How much of your day can you spend on a bike in Raleigh?

We take a look at our bicycling infrastructure and how we can make the area more bikeable.

A narrow bike lane with bicycle symbols and arrows indicating direction.

It’s time to put the pedal to the metal.

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko via Pexels

Table of Contents

Raleigh scored an 39 out of 100 on Walk Score’s bikeability meter, deeming it a “somewhat bikeable” city. Our score is determined by four components: bike lanes, hills, destinations and connectivity, and bicycle mode share. Wondering what all that means? Let’s bike it out.

Bike lanes 🛣️

Walk Score rates this category on the total length of bike paths and lanes. Learn more about bike lanes or plan a bike commute.

Hill score 🏔️

Hilliness is based on the steepest grade within our area, calculated using the National Elevation Data set from the United States Geological Survey (USGC). Play with the USGS’ interactive map to learn more about nearby topography.

Destinations and connectivity 🗺️

This uses our city’s Walk Score, which measures whether or not you need a car to run daily errands.

Bicycle mode share 🤝

This category takes into account the social nature of bicycling. There’s safety in numbers. Even if a city doesn’t have tons of infrastructure for cyclists, more cyclists mean more drivers are aware of bicycles — which makes roadways safer.

How can we boost our score? 🚲

The top way to increase the bikeability of our city is — you guessed it — by biking more. We can boost our community score by learning more about biking in our city.

Don’t have a bike yet? Support one of these local bike shops:

More from RALtoday
With the Winter Olympics well underway, we’re craving an Italian day without having to leave the 919. Here’s how to have a Milanese staycation right here in Raleigh.
The annual Great Backyard Bird Count attracts over a million bird lovers nationwide to help record the bird population — here’s how you can get involved in Raleigh.
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Don’t be caught empty-handed — use our guide to classic gifts fit for your sweetheart right here in Raleigh.
Dig into Raleigh’s must-try pizza shops including NC State hangouts, high-end Detroit-style pizza, and bagel shops moonlighting as pizzerias. Whatever style you prefer, there’s pizza in Raleigh for you.
Move aside pickleball, there’s a new racket sport in town.
Get your hats and mittens — it’s finally snow season in Raleigh. While the 919 isn’t known for its wintery weather, we’re holding out hope for some history-making snowfall soon.
The Super Bowl is right around the corner, and we’ve got five local sports bars to catch the big game at with everything from raffle prizes to a soup showdown.
Plan your next snowy adventure with these 10 resorts to ski, snowboard, and tube within five hours of Oak City.
The Olympics are nearly here, and there are plenty of Olympians with local ties, from NHL players to college students.
Raleighites can get around town and the greater area through GoRaleigh and GoTriangle. Learn how to ride the bus in Raleigh for public transportation through Raleigh + the greater Triangle.