Any Bike Friendly cities in Northeast or New England?

CarolinaCruiser

Hi Guys,
I will finish my master's in city planning soon and would like to move to a city, preferably in the Northeast or New England, one which is planned for people and not cars. Are there any such places in this area that you know of? I don't want to go out west and shutter at the thought of leaving Carolina, but I am a deathwish on wheels here. I believe the Triad (greensboro, High Point, Winston Salem) area where I live is the fourth worst in teh nation for ped/cyc deaths. It is horribly planned here and I just want to enjoy a place in the US which places values on this aspect of life. Having lived in Heidelberg, which is super bike friendly, I would love to return to this kind of lifestyle. Any suggestions for North East?

Thanks

pvoss

My vote -- with a great deal of trepidation fearing responses from bikers in other nearby cities -- is Boston/Cambridge MA by a fair margin. It is not bike "friendly" like Amsterdam or anything, and certainly isn't planned for bikes in any systematic way. But there are lot of bicyclists on the roads all the time for some good reasons:

- If you live in Boston or Cambridge, you really don't need a car
- Lots of people bike on all the streets, even if they are narrow and bumpy
- There are all shapes of bicycles and bicyclists
- Car drivers may be rude, but they know you're there
- Within a radius of 3 flat miles from Boston common, you can hit ...
- downtown, the financial district,
- a variety of different cool residential neighborhoods,
- many great universities,
- Fenway park
- There are good bikeways, e.g. the Charles River, Fenway, Minuteman
- A few miles farther, you can get beaches and tree covered hills
- Many people commute the 15 miles out to the tech belt of Route 128

Boston may not be the best city for biking, but it's better than all the other Northeast places I can think of. Many places are too spread out and/or the traffic is too insane for biking to be a regular mode of transport and fun.

My next favorites would be Portland, ME or Providence, RI.

CarolinaCruiser

Thanks for the info. I had thought about Boston anyway, so it is nice to know it is possible. I also wouldn't mind to opt for some place smaller, like Maine. It is a shame, but I can't think of a town in the South that is bike friendly, with possible Charleston or Savannah being an exception.
Thanks.
CC

bbunk

www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org has a list of all the communities that meet their standards. I believe it is sponsered by the League of American Bicyclist. They have cities in Virginia, Alabama, Maine and Florida to name a few.

balto charlie

Amherst, MA. Lots of colleges, very upbeat, active city with lots of bicyclist. However, I have never bicycled there so take this with a grain of salt. Cool town none-the-less. If I were to move to NE I would choose Amherst

artmichalek

And only two medalists in the north east. I've never been to Brunswick, ME, but Burlington, VT is great for cycling. Relatively friendly drivers, limited sprawl, and lots of bike lanes/paths. Bikes ride free on buses here too. The only downside is the long winter.