Add More Bicycle Friendly Communities to the List

The League of American Bicyclists recently announced 51 new Bicycle Friendly Community awards, bringing the total of communities acknowledged by the program to 485 in all.

The Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) award acknowledges communities working to build a bicycle friendly community for users of all ages and skill levels.

From an article by Lauren Jenkins announcing the latest round of awards:

Of the 51 communities earning awards, 12 demonstrated progress over the four years evaluated in an application to move up in award levels. Notably, Santa Monica, California, and Bellingham, Washington, moved up from Silver-level awards to Gold-level awards. For Santa Monica, the Fall 2020 Gold-level award is a result of continued engagement in becoming more welcoming to people who bike: the city first applied for an award in 2009 and was recognized by the League at the Bronze level, then moved up to a Silver-level Bicycle Friendly Community in 2013 (renewing at the same level in 2016), and advancing to Gold status this year. 

The city of Fort Wayne in Indiana, one of the cities to earn a BFC award in December, described the efforts that earned its Bronze-level award.

According to a press release from the city of Fort Wayne:

• The Fort Wayne Regional Trails system boasts 124 miles of trails, with 93.25 of those miles within city limits; the city maintains 88.35 miles of the trails.
• The city has installed 68 new bike racks and replaced an additional 17 bike racks.
• There are 22 miles of bike routes, bike lanes, and sharrows in Fort Wayne.
• The city also promotes biking through events like Trek the Trails, Open Streets, and the Active Commuter Breakfasts. Additionally, the city is an active partner in Kickstart, the month-long festival celebrating bikes, art, music and theater.

Fort Worth also adopted a comprehensive bike plan, Bike Fort Wayne, in 2010.