How Bike, Pedestrian Friendly is Your Town?

As part of a 5-year plan to track the progression of Connecticut’s “complete streets” initiative, Bike Walk Connecticut recently released a ranking of each town based on how bike and pedestrian friendly they are.

The rankings were compiled using online surveys of how bike and pedestrian friendly local residents think their towns are; municipal leadership and engagement efforts, including the creation of local bicycle and pedestrian master plans; whether local task forces or advisory groups have been established; whether a “complete streets” policy has been enacted; and related public outreach efforts.

“The surveys and scorecard are expected to be conducted annually as part of Bike Walk Connecticut's new 5-year initiative to make it safer and easier to walk and bike by implementing ‘complete streets’ in cities and towns across Connecticut,” the organization said in the data release.

Check out the map above to find out how your town rates for bicycle and pedestrian safety and awareness and check out the Top 17 safest and most dangerous towns for cyclists and pedestrians here.

Methodology

1. Public Opinion scores and Municipal Leadership and Engagement Scores are equally weighted in the combined final score.
2. All 169 towns are ranked. Rankings of 1 through 126 reflect tie scores.
3. The public opinion survey was based on Bikeability and Walkability Checklists developed in a joint effort of the Federal Highway Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the National Center for Safe Routes to School, and the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center. 
4. The public opinion survey was designed in Survey Monkey and publicly available to anyone who lives or works in Connecticut. Respondents were limited to one response per person. 
5. Nearly 2,200 people completed either the public opinion Bikeability Survey, the Walkability Survey, or both. 
6. Public opinions on bikeability and walkability are equally weighted and make up the “Bike Walk Friendly Score.”
7. Municipal Leadership and Engagement scores are based on the presence or absence of 1) a bicycle and pedestrian master plan; 2) a bicycle and pedestrian task force or similar group; 3) any public outreach efforts on complete streets or cycling and pedestrian issues; and 4) a municipal complete streets policy. This information was self-reported by municipal staff or elected officials in an online survey or by phone to Bike Walk CT staff. Points were assigned to “No” and “I don’t know” answers to distinguish non-responding towns from responding towns.
8. Public opinion surveys were received from 155 of 169 towns. No responses were received for: Bozrah, Canterbury, Hartland, Harwinton, Naugatuck, Oxford, Preston, Roxbury, Salem, Scotland, Seymour, Sharon, Sherman, or Voluntown.
9. Municipal leadership and engagement information was received from 121 of 169 towns.