When PeopleForBikes released its annual City Ratings, many Chicago cyclists were baffled — and for good reason. According to their 2025 rankings, Chicago came in a jaw-dropping 2,497th place. That’s not just insulting — it’s laughably disconnected from reality.
The rating system penalized Chicago heavily due to a single technical factor: the city’s 25 mph speed limit. Because PeopleForBikes’ algorithm classifies roads with 25 mph limits and no protected lanes as “high-stress,” Chicago is essentially written off as having no low-stress, bikeable streets. But anyone who actually rides here knows that’s just not true.
In reality, Chicago is one of the most bikeable big cities in America. From daily commuters along Milwaukee Avenue to kids biking to school on Leland, the city’s streets are filled with people on two wheels. The effective speed of cars on many roads is well below 25 mph due to congestion, traffic calming, stop signs, and speed humps. That makes riding in Chicago often safer — and less stressful — than in smaller, higher-ranked cities that appear bike-friendly only on paper.
Even more confusing is PeopleForBikes’ heat map, which paints nearly the entire city as a high-stress biking environment. This fails to capture the nuance of Chicago’s street-level changes — especially in areas where residents have fought for and won better biking infrastructure.
Neighborhoods in the 47th and 40th Wards have seen remarkable transformation. Thanks to persistent advocacy and forward-thinking aldermen, these areas now feature protected bike lanes, greenways, neighborhood slow streets, and an active bike culture. These changes have made a real impact, turning once car-dominated corridors into community-centered routes that prioritize safety and accessibility for cyclists of all ages.
Over the last decade, the city has expanded its biking infrastructure across a range of communities — where residents actually want it. That matters. Chicago’s approach to bike planning has become increasingly collaborative, aiming to match community support with smart design. It’s not perfect, but it’s miles ahead of where it was, and far more bike-friendly than a 2,497th-place ranking would suggest.
There’s no doubt that Chicago still has work to do. Some neighborhoods remain underserved, and enforcement around cars blocking bike lanes remains spotty. But it’s dishonest — and unproductive — to disregard the real progress being made because of a rigid algorithm that can’t tell the difference between a calm neighborhood street in Ravenswood and a six-lane arterial in Houston.
If PeopleForBikes wants to be taken seriously in major cities, they need to rethink how they measure stress and accessibility. Right now, their system rewards cities for ticking theoretical boxes, not for building real, livable biking environments. Chicago deserves better — and so do the thousands of people who ride here every day.
Because if you actually get out and ride in this city, you’ll find that biking in Chicago doesn’t feel like 2,497th place. It feels like home.
