More than 4,250 bikers turned out for Bike to Work Day in Anchorage today. That’s more than double the participants for last year’s snowy event, when low numbers were blamed on the cold, wet weather. In 2012, about 3,800 bikers took to the streets and trails. Lori Schanche [Skanky] is the non-motorized transportation coordinator for the municipality. She says the number of riders counted at each special Bike to Work station has increased, but the percentage of people wearing bike helmets is down slightly to 87%. It was at 92% last year.
The Anchorage area also hit a record with the number of students participating in Bike to School Day in May. Three thousand students from 62 schools participated. It was the largest number of schools in any city in the nation.
Anne Hillman is the healthy communities editor at Alaska Public Media and a host of Hometown, Alaska. Reach her atahillman@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Annehere.
