Three years after Mayor Rahm Emanuel first pledged to make Chicago the nation's most "bike-friendly" city, Chicago has inched its way up to No. 2.
That's according to Bicycling Magazine, which biennially ranks 50 U.S. cities for their bicycle infrastructure and the popularity of cycling among their residents. Chicago was in 10th place back in 2010, and moved up to the No. 5 slot in 2012, according to the magazine's ranking. This year, New York City took top honors.
But Chicago's jump in the rankings surprised some of the city's regular riders.
"I would think places like Seattle and Portland, where I assume there's less traffic, would have done better," said Cathi Odtohan, 42, of Uptown.
Minneapolis was ranked behind Chicago in third place, while Portland came in fourth, and Washington, D.C., came in fifth. Seattle took the 8th rank.
Odtohan said she frequently takes Grand Avenue to and from her job in River North, and, "That's a major street; you're fighting delivery trucks, you're fighting cabs. It's the most hectic part of my commute."
In a statement, Emanuel said the rankings showed Chicago is "setting a new standard" for other cities in improving cycling options.
"This new ranking by Bicycling Magazine demonstrates that Chicago is on the right path to becoming the best cycling city in America," he said.
Chicago scored well in each of the magazine's metrics, which included the number of bike facilities and lanes per square mile, the ratio of citizens to bike-share bikes, the number of cycling fatalities, and the bike-friendliness of local businesses, according to an article the magazine published online last week.
The magazine cited the city's Navy Pier Flyover construction project, the recent hike in fines for dooring cyclists, and the plans for new protected bike lanes as a few of the reasons Chicago rose in the rankings. It also applauded the city for helping Chicagoans "re-discover" cycling.
Ryan Griffith, 28, of Evanston, said the advent of Divvy, Chicago's year-old bike-sharing program, turned him into a cyclist.
"I never biked in the city until I picked up a Divvy, but now I do it every single day," he said. "I think it's getting better."
John Greenfield, an editor for the city's transportation news blog Streetsblog Chicago, wrote on Friday that the city's jump in the rankings seems unlikely, but might be well-deserved in the context of the recent gains the city has made, expanding its bike share program and the number of buffer- and barrier-protected bike lanes.
"It would still be quite a stretch to argue that a typical bike ride in Chicago is safer or more relaxing than one in Portland or the City of Lakes," Greenfield wrote. "But the Bicycling rankings are an opportunity for Chicagoans to give themselves a well-earned pat on the back for the major strides we've made in the past few years."