Celebrating 18 Years of the Benchmarking Report on Bicycling & Walking
For nearly two decades, the Benchmarking Report on Bicycling and Walking in the United States has been a go-to source for a data-driven understanding of how Americans travel on foot and by bicycle. What started in the early 2000s as a printed report has grown into today’s online resource at data.bikeleague.org, making it easier to explore both national trends and local progress. As we mark this 18-year milestone, we’re looking back at some of the report’s biggest impacts—and how it can continue to support change today.
The Benchmarking Report in Action: Popular Use Cases
#1: Research and Evaluation
Researchers rely on the Benchmarking Report as a trusted, one-stop source for bicycling and walking data. The report can help researchers find information more easily, since data from multiple agencies are compiled in one place. It also gives champions a way to measure their outcomes for walking and biking alongside peer communities to help put measurements and trends in context.
#2: Shaping Bicycle and Pedestrian Plans
Cities and states across the country use the Benchmarking Report to guide their bicycle and pedestrian plans. Based on an analysis of the state and city plans reported by the Benchmarking Report, nearly half of those plans use benchmarking as a methodology. Some planners found the demographic analyses useful, while others used it to find and learn from peers’ Bicycle and Pedestrian Plans.
#3: Education and Community Action
For organizations and local groups hoping to improve biking and walking in their community, the Benchmarking Report is both a reference tool and a source of inspiration. It helps decision-makers new to bicycling and walking get up to speed on data and trends. It also gives local groups ideas to spark new initiatives by highlighting trends, like the growth of Open Streets events or the rise of separated bicycle lanes. By documenting how these approaches have spread—such as Open Streets events growing from just 24% (12 of 51) of cities surveyed in the 2012 Benchmarking Report to 82% (62 of 76) reported in 2018 —the Benchmarking Report helps create awareness for strategies that communities can adopt with confidence.
When Media Meets Data
The reach of the Benchmarking Report goes well beyond planners and classrooms. When major media outlets highlight its findings, conversations about bicycling and walking enter the public spotlight.
One example: in 2023, Axios published a story on bicyclist fatalities using Benchmarking Report data. That single article drew a surge of new readers to data.bikeleague.org and sparked citywide conversations about bicycle safety.
This moment showed the power of pairing credible data with timely storytelling—helping the insights of the Benchmarking Report reach far wider audiences.
What Data People Are Looking For
Over the years, certain topics the Benchmarking Report shares data for have consistently drawn the most attention. Pages on traffic fatalities and the rates of bicycling and walking remain the most viewed, which may reflect both the urgency for transportation safety and a growing interest in multiple transportation options.
Demographic breakdowns—showing who bicycles and walks—are also among the most shared graphs and tables. Journalists, community leaders, and curious residents can use these tools to spark conversations and support decision-making.
These popular graphs and tables help show that the Benchmarking Report isn’t just about collecting data. It’s about highlighting the numbers that help people understand trends, make informed choices, and work toward creating healthier communities.
Continuing the Legacy
Eighteen years on, the League hopes to continue updating the Benchmarking Report to help inform efforts to create healthier communities. The Benchmarking Report has helped provide planners with tools to develop community plans and programs, supported local champions with data to strengthen walking and biking efforts, and served as a reference for communities across the country to help track progress.
The League looks forward to continuing this work and helping more communities access these data to help inspire more actions that can improve walking and biking. As we celebrate this milestone, the report reminds us that data is more than numbers—it’s a tool for building safer, healthier places to walk and ride.
If the Benchmarking Report has helped your work—whether shaping a plan or strengthening a grant application—we’d love to hear from you. Share your story and tag us at @bikeleague on social media. Here’s to 18 years of data-driven progress, and many more ahead!
This project was made possible by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Contract #47QRAA20D003W). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC. These efforts are part of the CDC’s Active People, Healthy NationSM Initiative that is working to help 27 million Americans become more physically active by 2027.