Davis retains platinum status as bike capital:
If Davis is considered a bike friendly city, then larger cities like New York and Chicago are only biking “acquaintance” cities. The two cities only express mere recognition of biking and bikers in their spaces.
Davis has built tunnels and overpasses to easily cross the highways traversing the town. No road will hinder any Davis cyclist. There are many off-street trails as well as bicycle boulevards: streets designed with cyclists taking first priority. Boulevards have lots of signage and lane markings and have very low speed limits for motor vehicles. Also on the boulevards are concrete islands and neckdowns to block vehicles but allow bikers.
Neckdowns are landscaped fixtures that jut into the street, narrowing it, which essentially causes motorists to slow down. It’s also a beautifying feature.
Davis also installs at many intersections light signaling for bikes.
In Chicago, we have none of this. I think we can start with Milwaukee Ave. because it’s a popular and well-used thoroughfare for commuters riding to downtown. The lakefront path could also use some work to increase average speed and keep out those users which hinder bikers. A north-south road could be converted to a bicycle highway – a street with no on-street car parking and all intersections (except for a handful) are yields in favor of cyclists.