Somerville ranks 1st in Northeast for bike commuting

Nearly 8 percent of Somerville residents who commute to work do so by bicycle, the highest rate in a region stretching from Maine to Maryland, according to a report from the League of American Bicyclists.

“Where We Ride: An Analysis of Bicycle Commuting in American Cities,” released Nov. 4, found that 7.8 percent of Somerville commuters rely on bicycles to get to work. Somerville’s score places it fifth in the nation.

Cambridge, which borders Somerville, finished second in the Northeast region, with roughly 6.5 percent of commuters traveling by bike.

Over the past three years, Somerville has created many miles of dedicated bike lanes as well as “sharrows” – on-street markings indicating that motorists should share the road. From 2010 to 2013, bicycle riding in Somerville at peak commuting hours increased by 80 percent, according to Somerville’s annual bicycle and pedestrian counts.

The city also participates in the Hubway bike-sharing program, along with Boston, Brookline and Cambridge.

American Community Survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau was used to calculate the percentage of commuters who ride bikes in cities across the country.