Newswise — As more drivers trade in their cars for bikes, cities nationwide are starting to re-evaluate if their current streets are versatile enough to suit not only the commuter, but also the cyclist.

Cycling is trending nationwide as both a sport and mode of transportation, according to the League of American Bicyclists. Commuting by bike has grown 62 percent nationwide since 2000 and offers riders a healthier alternative than sitting through rush hour traffic.

The lack of safe space to walk, bicycle, or be outside in a community has a direct impact on physical activity levels, job access, education options and housing quality. Health equity is central to the work of making neighborhoods safer for kids to walk to school, families to walk and bike to parks and libraries, and the workforce to safely get to their jobs.

The Village of Walthill in Nebraska has a population of just 780 people, primarily Native American. A number of the village’s children walk to school and safety was a concern.

Sodus, New York, population 1,800, uses the town’s school as a primary gathering place for community residents, so accessibility is a priority.

But getting there has been issue. Sidewalks are heaved and cracked in some places. In others, none have ever been constructed.

In both cases, local officials asked national experts with the Safe Routes to School National Partnership for help with creating a plan – known as Complete Streets — that is accessible and safe.

Complete Streets are designed with consideration for users of all ages and physical ability, and they allow for multiple modes of transportation. Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and public transportation users are able to safely move along and across a complete street.

“As a runner, it helps to have a lot of signs telling cars to watch for pedestrians. You should be able to run in the community that you live in,” said Jeff Soileau, a fitness advocate and American Heart Association volunteer in Baton Rouge.

A few years ago, Soileau was hit by a car while running. He was not hurt badly since the driver saw him just in time to slam on his brakes, but his accident resonates the necessity of having signs to alert drivers that there are pedestrians.

His community, the East Baton Rouge Metro Council in Louisiana, adopted a Complete Streets program allowing new sidewalks and street projects near schools where safety concerns are greatest.

“One particular area has four elementary schools in pretty close proximity to each other and limited sidewalks. There have been some fatalities, so in my mind those areas need to be given a great deal of consideration,” Councilwoman Ronnie Edwards.

“We have families that are walking in the street to get to clinics, libraries and parks,” added Soileau. “They may be in a multi-unit housing complex and they don’t have a yard. It’s not just kids walking to school, but need to walk six to eight blocks to the library to access the Internet and do their homework. If you can’t push a stroller down the street in a way that’s safe, you can’t access basic medical care.”

Critical to the effectiveness of complete streets is ensuring low-income neighborhoods — where fewer people have cars and there are more concerns about safety — are included as a priority for implementing the new standards, said Edwards.

In Seattle, the street safety issues center on cyclists. The city ranks fifth place in the nation with about 12 percent of people cycling, according to the Alliance for Biking and Walking.

Seattle also tops the list in regards to the relationship between the percentage of people who cycle to work and the city’s level of cycling advocacy. Portland, Oregon, Long Beach, California and Kansas City, Missouri, follow close behind.

Thomas Payne M.D. and Larry Dean M.D. teach at the University of Washington. Both are avid cyclists and are members of a cycling advocacy club. In Seattle, Dean says it is possible to see “literally thousands” of riders on the street in nice weather. What is the key to Seattle reaching this level of cyclists on the road? The power rests in numbers.

Drivers are more likely to operate carefully and safely around walkers and bikers when they are more prevalent. However, Dean and Payne both warn that regardless of the number of cyclists that are on the road it is the experience of both the driver and cyclist that is most important.

“Cyclists on a road are required to follow the same rules as a car,” Dean says. Anyone not following traffic laws is put at risk, he says. “You have to act like a car if you want to be treated as one.”

Payne warns drivers to think of cyclists on the road as more than just random passerby. One of the best ways to stay alert to a cyclist is to give them an identity, possibly thinking of them as a family member or a neighbor. “They could be someone close to you,” he says.