Philadelphia ranks among best U.S. cities for biking

• Cities are rated 0-100 based on factors like protected bike lanes, safe crossings, speed limits and connections throughout the city, with a score of 50 and up representing "a great place to bike."

State of play: Philadelphia scored 59th-best overall and 4th among large cities (with populations of more than 300,000) that were rated.

Here's where Philly fits in among the other top-performing large cities:

• We were behind Minneapolis, San Francisco and Seattle. But we beat out Portland, Oregon, New York, St. Paul, Minnesota, and Washington D.C.

The big picture: Bicycle infrastructure has improved nationwide as the pandemic-era cycling boom seems to have staying power.

• The nine highest-rated large cities improved their score year-over-year, including three that crossed the threshold of 50.
• Those improvements have come via concerted efforts to increase bike safety and accessibilityNew York adding/improving lanes amid increasing ridership and St. Paul adding five miles of new lanes.

What's ahead: Philly is in the process of rolling out its first-ever curb-protected bike lanes.