No surprise to bikers, magazine frowns on Atlanta

ATLANTA - A national magazine has ranked Atlanta the worst city in the nation for bicycling in a survey based on availability of bike lanes and trails, and interviews with bikers. <br> <br> The survey by Bicycling magazine put Atlanta in a tie with Houston for the notorious distinction. <br> <br> There are 16,500 miles of road in the ten counties immediately surrounding Atlanta, compared with just 157 miles of paved bike or pedestrian paths and lanes, according to the Atlanta Regional Commission. <br> <br> The magazine findings came as little surprise to Glen Simpson, who moved to Atlanta from Orange County, California, several years ago. He said in California, bike lanes were much more common. <br> <br> While biking is good on the rural streets outside Atlanta, Simpson said ``as far as safety goes, and as far as using the bike to commute to a facility, it&#39;s much more hazardous.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> A resolution creating a network of bike lanes throughout the state never made it out of committee in the just-ended legislative session. <br> <br> Dennis Hoffarth, executive director of the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign, said local governments in metro Atlanta are making improvements favorable to bikers -- but far too slowly. <br> <br> One estimate by his group found that at the current rate of building bike lanes and trails, it would take metro Atlanta 130 years to finish a good network for cyclists.

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