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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah was named the No. 8 most bike friendly state for 2014 by the League of American Bicyclists.
The state's top signs of bicycle success include having more than one percent of the population commuting by bike, a state bicycle plan and a safe passing law, according to the state's report card from LAB.
The bike advocacy group releases a ranking of all 50 states every year based on each state's policies and programs, legislation and enforcement, infrastructure and funding, education and encouragement, and evaluation and planning.
Utah received a score of 53.7 out of 100, improving on its score of 43.1 from 2013. The state's highest scores were given for the "legislation and enforcement" and "education and encouragement" categories. Its lowest score was for "infrastructure and funding."
LAB suggested Utah could become more bike friendly by adopting a safe passing law with a minimum distance of 3 feet, collecting data on enforcement actions against motorists based on incidents with bicycles, and adopting a policy requiring state buildings and parks to have bicycle parking.
Washington received the honor of being named the most bike friendly state in the country with a score of 66.8, followed by Minnesota and Wisconsin. The state with the worst report card was Alabama, with a score of 17.4.
The 10 most bike friendly states:
- Washington
- Minnesota
- Wisconsin
- Delaware
- Oregon
- Colorado
- Maryland
- Utah
- California
- Massachusetts The 10 least bike friendly states:1. New Mexico
- Oklahoma
- Alaska
- West Virginia
- Nebraska
- Kansas
- South Carolina
- Kentucky
- Montana
- Alabama