Oakland Makes Leap in Cycling Numbers

(Bay City News) It's not your imagination.

There are more bikes on the road in Oakland than ever before and the numbers back it up.

The U.S. Census Bureau released its 2011 American Community Survey data and it shows that of the 100 largest cities in the country, Oakland is seventh in the nation by percentage of people who travel to work by bicycle.

"The city has made a big commitment in recent years to building our bike lanes and making the city safer, more fun, and more accessible for cyclists," Oakland Mayor Jean Quan said in a statement. "So it's gratifying to see more and more Oaklanders enjoying the benefits of biking as a healthy way to commute to work."

Oakland saw the biggest jump in bike usage with a 46 percent bump in 2011. Since 2000, bicycling in Oakland has increased by more than 250 percent.

Oakland joined its neighbor across the bay, San Francisco, which is fourth in the nation in biking with more than 3.4 percent of commuters riding to work. The only cities ahead of Oakland are Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, Minn., San Francisco, Seattle, Madison, Wis., and Portland, Ore.

San Jose also cracked the top 30 in the nation with one percent of San Jose workers riding their bikes.