FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 30, 2023
Contact: Patrick J. McCormick
Communication Director
Phone: 202-822-1333; Fax: 202-822-1334
Email: [email protected]

(WASHINGTON, DC)—The League of American Bicyclists has named Fort Collins, Colorado a Bicycle-Friendly Community, following a detailed audit of the city’s efforts to provide safe accommodation and facilities for bicyclists and to encourage residents to bike for transportation and recreation. Through policy and design, Fort Collins has focused on increasing opportunities for physical activity and is a model in America’s efforts to reduce obesity.

Fort Collins received the silver award, the third highest level of the League’s four-tiered Bicycle-Friendly Community national awards program. Just two cities, Palo Alto, CA and Corvallis, OR received the gold award; Fort Collins was one of just six cities to receive the silver award. The League honored a total of fourteen communities around the United States with the Bicycle-Friendly Community award, but did not bestow the highest-level platinum award to any communities.

Fort Collins, with its well integrated on and off-street bicycle network, has a long history of deep and abiding commitment to bicycling. To promote biking to work by, the City established a Commuter Bicycle Coach Program in which participants receive special incentives for cycling at least one day a week for five months. To further encourage bicycle commuting, Fort Collins organized a program for area businesses to purchase bike lockers at reduced cost for the use of their employees.

The League of American Bicyclists considered several factors in evaluating Fort Collins and other communities that applied for Bicycle-Friendly Community status. Reviewers examined the traffic engineering facilities and policies and bicycling promotion efforts of the communities. The cities’ enforcement of traffic laws on motorists and cyclists, their efforts to educate both groups on traffic safety, and their processes to plan for and evaluate policies and facilities for cycling also were considered.

Elissa Margolin, Executive Director of the League, said, “The League is delighted to honor Fort Collins with the Bicycle-Friendly Community designation. Thanks to its long-term commitment to better bicycling, people in Fort Collins benefit every day from reduced traffic, better air quality, and improved public health. These benefits translate to increased quality of life, higher property values, and heightened community spirit.”

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 liveable. The Campaign works in the most effective way possible—town by town, city by city—to encourage bicycling and achieve a bicycle-friendly America.

Dan Grunig, Executive Director of Bicycle Colorado will present the award at the June 3 meeting of the Fort Collins City Council.