October 9, 2020 - Population 705,750 – Washington, D.C. has often been recognized as a North American leader when it comes to its cycling agenda.

In 2018, the city received a “Gold” Bicycle Friendly Community designation from the League of American Bicyclists. It also received the fifth-highest rating of any city in North America from People for Bikes in 2020.

These awards reflect the work being done to grow Washington’s cycling network to include more than 80 miles (128km) of bike infrastructure. The city reports that the number of daily bike commuters has more than doubled from 7,000 to 17,000 and that plans are underway to create a more connected and low-stress cycling experience with another 20 miles (32km) of protected bike lanes.

In tandem with efforts to improve cycling infrastructure, every second-grader participates in a bicycling class. During the COVID-19 pandemic, local organization Washington Area Bicycle Association (WABA) reported an increased demand for cycling education courses, which they are currently offering in an online-only format. To connect with people and address the barriers to cycling, organizations are running a variety of programs and events, including WABA’s bike ambassadors program and bike rides hosted by Black Women Bike.

Washington was also the first city in North America to launch a bike share system. What started with 120 bikes and 10 stations in 2008 has now grown into a regional system that includes 4,500 bikes across more than 500 stations and 30,000 annual members.

After being removed from the network for about a year due to concerns about the braking system, e-bikes have now been re-launched as part of Capital Bikeshare, and the system expects to have about 900 e-bikes in total by the end of 2020.