The national advocacy group Alliance for Biking and Walking has released its 2012 Benchmarking Report “Bicycling and Walking in the United States, 2012.”  The report, as in previous editions, compares states and major cities in terms safety, mode share, funding, and levels of biking and walking.  It is the third such report in the Alliance’s Benchmarking Project, an on-going effort to collect and analyze data on bicycling and walking in all 50 states and the 51 largest U.S. cities.  The report shows that where bicycling and walking levels are higher, obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes levels are lower. Higher levels of bicycling and walking also coincide with increased bicycle and pedestrian safety and higher levels of physical activity.  The primary recommendation of the report is the need for greater investment in bicycling and walking.