League Honors Six New Bicycle-Friendly Communities

Awarded Bicycle-Friendly Communities October 2004

Platinium Level
none

Gold

none

Silver

Eugene, OR

Bronze

Ada County, ID

Honorable Mention

Carmel, IN

New York City, NY

Oakdale, MN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 4, 2004

Contact: Patrick J. McCormick

Communications Director

League of American Bicyclists

Phone: 202-822-1333; Fax: 202-822-1334

Email: patrick@bikeleague.org

Washington, DC—The League of American Bicyclists is pleased to announce it has recognized six American communities with its prestigious Bicycle Friendly Community designation; the League has now honored a total of 44 communities across the nation with the award. Eugene, Oregon—which was granted the League's silver-level Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) award—leads the new group. The other new BFC winners—all at the bronze level—include: Ada County, Idaho; Chandler, Arizona; Chico, California; Lawrence, Kansas; and Orlando, Florida. The League gave honorable mention designations to Carmel, Indiana; New York, New York; and Oakdale, Minnesota.

The BFC designation honors the commitment of the award-winning communities to provide safe accommodation and facilities for bicyclists, and recognizes their efforts to encourage bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation. Please visit www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org to learn more about the awards process and the communities the League has honored with the BFC prize.

Andy Clarke, Executive Director of the League, said, "Communities designated by the League as Bicycle Friendly have completed a rigorous application and review process (just 44 of the 98 applicants have been granted the BFC award). More importantly, they have shown themselves willing to invest in creating a better, more livable environment for their citizens. BFCs typically enjoy levels of bicycle use that are well above the national average and consequently they are reaping the rewards of cleaner air, less congestion, safer streets, and a more active and healthy population.

Eugene is the fifth city in Oregon to win the League's BFC award, joining gold-level honorees Portland and Corvallis and bronze-level designees Ashland and Beaverton. The League has yet to bestow its highest-level platinum award to any communities. Eugene, because of the city's long-term commitment to bicycling, is an excellent example of a BFC. Evidence of Eugene's commitment includes a 5.5% bicycle mode share, innovative facilities, top-notch education programs for youth, and effective encouragement programs. Eugene has incorporated bicycling into city policies to ensure future development will accommodate and enhance bicycling. Eugene boasts a combination of on and off-road bicycle facilities – most of the paths are lighted much like city streets.

Eugene's Bike Month celebration has evolved from a one-day event to a summer long program where participants commit to getting to work on foot or bike at least one day a week. Another program challenging people to bike to work is the Business Commute Challenge where businesses compete in an effort to get more people biking to work .

League staff and reviewers consider several factors before granting a community BFC status, including:

The physical environment for bicycling -- on-street facilities, trails, parking etc.
Education programs to promote a "share the road" ethic among bicyclists and drivers
Promotional initiatives to persuade people to ride or ride more often
Enforcement of traffic laws for both motorists and bicyclists
Future plans and evaluation techniques to improve conditions further

Though the League's BFC program is relatively new (its first applications were accepted in March 2003), Clarke said it has already become a catalyst for positive change in communities across the country. He said that, "The communities the League has honored with the BFC award are setting an example to others. Furthermore, I'm delighted to report that none of the communities we've designated have been satisfied with the level of their award. They all want to do better; they want to do more to encourage bicycling, and they want to move up to the next level." Even communities whose applications the League has rejected have chosen to use the feedback from their reports as blueprints for needed improvements.

The League anticipates a rapidly growing list of BFC award winners as additional communities apply for the honor. Communities wishing to be considered for the award should visit www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org to view the application and learn more about the program. Applications received on or before March 25, 2005 will be considered in the next application review cycle, with announcements of winning communities scheduled for May 2005.

The League's Bicycle Friendly Community Campaign is a national grassroots effort to increase the number of trips made by bike, promote physical fitness, and help make communities more livable. The Campaign works in the most effective way possible-town by town, city by city-to encourage bicycling and achieve a bicycle-friendly America.

The Campaign is supported by generous grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (www.rwjf.org) and Bikes Belong Coalition (http://bikesbelong.org).

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The League of American Bicyclists promotes bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation, and works through advocacy and education for a bicycle-friendly America. The League represents the interests of America's 57 million bicyclists, including its 300,000 members and affiliates. For more information or to support the League, visit www.bikeleague.org and www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org .