The survey stated that about 6.8 percent of people in Laramie commute by bicycle with a margin of error of 1.8 percent. While the national average for bicycling was only 0.6 percent, it is a significant rise from 0.5 percent in 1980. The national average for walking to work is 2.8 percent, a major decline from 5.6 percent in 1980.
Senior Derek Johnson, a civil engineering major said, “Riding a bike is just a really convenient way to get around this town. The campus is small enough to where you can get to anywhere in ten minutes on a bike. The town is also very good in that way. Plus there are places to put your bike wherever you go.”
The top five small cities were Palo Alto, Calif, Santa Cruz, Calif., Corvallis, Ore. and Key West, Fla., and the best city for commuting on bicycle is Davis, Calif. with 18.6 percent of people using bicycles to commute. The study defined a “small city” as populations with 20,000-99,000 people. Boulder, Colo. was the best bicycling commuting city for medium populations (100,000-199,999) and Portland Oregon was the top for large populations (200,000 or more).
The survey goes on to say that people 16-24 years of age are more likely to bike than people who are at an older age. The number of people who tend to bike goes down as age increases. While walking to work is more prevalent in younger people, it makes a comeback once people start getting older. People are also more likely to walk to work than ride there bike on average.
Kevin Stadick, a local resident and avid bicyclist said, “I’ve noticed Laramie is more of a progressive town when it comes to bicycling. All over town I see bike lanes, stands for bikes, and even a couple bicycle shops.”
