MORE THAN 500 CITIES AND TOWNS ACROSS AMERICA ARE LEAGUE-CERTIFIED BICYCLE FRIENDLY COMMUNITIES
Today, the League of American Bicyclists honors 32 cities and towns with a Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) award, with an additional seven places earning an Honorable Mention. The Fall 2022 round of awards now makes a total of 501 Bicycle Friendly Communities spanning all 50 states, which means over 5 million people now live in places making an effort to be more welcoming to bicyclists!
These 32 new and renewing communities are the first to be evaluated following monumental updates to the Bicycle Friendly Community program's application made in the summer of 2022. The updates expanded the application’s questions about equity and accessibility in a new section on the topic and placed a greater emphasis on the importance of building and connecting low-speed and low-stress bike networks. Alongside questions about a community’s efforts, the League provides ideas and resources for applicants to facilitate local engagement with the public as well as collaboration with regional leaders to expand and enhance efforts within and beyond the community’s borders.
The League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Friendly America program, which also evaluates states, businesses, and universities, has been setting the standard for how places build and benchmark progress toward better bicycling for more than 25 years, receiving over 1,900 applications to date.
“Being a Bicycle Friendly Community takes more than hosting a yearly event or building a few bike lanes,” said Bill Nesper, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists. “The best communities for people who bike are places where efforts to build connected bike networks are complemented by ensuring equal access to bike education and hosting inclusive community rides and events for all types of riders. They are places where embedding equity and accessibility into bicycling efforts is the rule, not the exception, making them truly better for everyone. This round of BFC awards is a testament to the community leaders and local bike advocates who recognize the importance of a whole-of-community approach to bettering biking.”
Among this round's notable awardees is Fayetteville, Arkansas, which climbed the ranks from its previous Silver-level award to earn a gold designation, along with Oakland, California, and The Villages, Florida, which both renewed their Gold-level awards. Three communities renewed their Silver designations: Arcata, California; Bozeman, Montana; and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. This round also included five communities climbing the ranks from previous Bronze-level awards to Silver-level awards: Dublin, Ohio; Richfield, Minnesota; San Jose, California; St. George, Utah; and Walker, Minnesota.
