Northwest Arkansas ranks among best U.S. cycling cities

June 10, 2020 at 11:17 a.m.

by Garrett Moore

NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.T. WAMPLER A cyclist rides along Center St. in Fayetteville Monday July 1, 2019. As of Monday, Arkansas bicyclists are able to treat stop signs as yields and red lights as stop signs. The law allows cyclists to maintain their momentum and encourages them to ride on back roads.
NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.T. WAMPLER A cyclist rides along Center St. in Fayetteville Monday July 1, 2019. As of Monday, Arkansas bicyclists are able to treat stop signs as yields and red lights as stop signs. The law allows cyclists to maintain their momentum and encourages them to ride on back roads.

Three Northwest Arkansas cities were named among the country's top 20 bike towns by a national cycling organization.

Rogers was ranked No. 6, Fayetteville No. 10 and Bella Vista No. 14 in a list of the nation's best cycling cities by PlacesForBikes, according to a news release.

"We are extremely proud of what we've been able to do here in Fayetteville," said Mayor Lioneld Jordan. "A community that--just 20 years ago--didn't have a single bike lane or a shared-use paved trail is now in the top ten in the nation. It's remarkable progress."

The PlacesForBikes rankings are determined by cities' ratings in five categories: ridership, safety, cycling network, network reach and acceleration.

Northwest Arkansas cities ranked at or near the top in the acceleration category, a measure of how quickly the cycling infastructure is improving and local ridership is growing, according to the organization's website.

For the second straight year, Fayetteville received the highest score in the country in the category with Bella Vista and Rogers also ranking among the top ten.

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