Survey Reveals Mayoral Support of Bike Infrastructure

Michael Andersen reports some of the results of the 2015 Menino Survey of Mayors [pdf], released last week by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Andersen's interest is in the opinions of the 89 mayors surveyed on the subject of bike infrastructure—and he finds surprising results.

According to Andersen, a large and bipartisan majority of U.S. mayors want to make transportation infrastructure "more space-efficient, cost-effective, and economically productive by adding bike facilities in place of extra passing lanes or on-street parking spaces."

Despite the support for bike infrastructure on either side of the political spectrum, the survey revealed a gap in preferences between the two parties. "There was a clear divide between Democratic and Republican mayors. About 80 percent of Democratic mayors agreed with the statement about prioritizing biking improvements over the status quo. GOP mayors split on the question 43 percent to 43 percent, with the remaining 14 percent undecided," reports Andersen.

The article includes additional insight into the political support for bike infrastructure among the nation's mayors, which the survey approached with several different lines of questioning.