About a week ago People For Bikes released their annual scoresheet on cities and towns in the U.S. I’m sure many of you have seen it, but I’ll go over a few of the highlights. Lincoln’s network score is 45, with an average for all cities in 2026 of 36. That puts us in the 76th percentile out of 3019 cities.
From peopleforbikes.org: Lincoln, Nebraska is one of eight 2026 Cities to Watch
“Nebraska’s capital city has slowly built one of the most impressive trail networks in the Great Plains, and its 130-plus miles of trails and bike lanes now anchor a system that the American Planning Association recognized as one of the Great Public Spaces in America. The centerpiece of Lincoln’s push for better biking is the N Street Protected Bikeway — Nebraska’s first protected bikeway — which connected the city’s trail network to the Haymarket district, Pinnacle Bank Arena, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus. That investment sparked a broader build-out, with our national bike project tracker reflecting active and completed projects across the city, including the Fletcher Landmark Trail, Chris Beutler Trail, and a critical hike-bike trail connection that will link Omaha and Lincoln.”
Also “For those of us who call the Heartland home, the PeopleForBikes’ 2026 City Ratings tell a familiar story. Our communities might not have the largest populations, the biggest transportation budgets, or the highest density. But year after year, cities across the middle of the country keep proving that great places for biking can be built anywhere.
This year’s results are especially meaningful because PeopleForBikes introduced a more rigorous methodology — one that places a greater emphasis on network quality, connectivity, and access to destinations. For the Heartland, the results are encouraging.
Connectivity Is Becoming the Heartland’s Strength
The highest-performing cities aren’t simply building more trails or adding more bike lanes. They’re creating networks that link neighborhoods to schools, downtowns to business districts, and homes to everyday destinations — making it safer and easier for people to choose a bike for short trips, daily errands, and commuting.
What a Score of 50 Means
A City Ratings score of 50 represents an important milestone. Communities that reach this threshold have built networks that allow a meaningful share of residents to comfortably access daily destinations by bike — not through standout projects, but through a connected system that works together.”
It’s interesting to poke around the website and become more familiar with the criteria used for scoring, and what communities can do to improve their scores. I encourage you to do so.