32 ORGANIZATIONS EARN BICYCLE FRIENDLY BUSINESS AWARDS

Today, the League of American Bicyclists is proud to honor 32 organizations with a Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB) Award in its Fall 2021 round. These 32 new and renewing organizations join a movement of 1,471 businesses across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. building up a Bicycle Friendly America by encouraging safer streets and better bicycling for everyone. 

“Congratulations to our new and renewing Bicycle Friendly Businesses, whose efforts show the mission to build an America where every person can safely and easily choose to bike is rooted in every part of a community,” said Bill Nesper, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists. “This round of awards includes companies and organizations of every size investing their resources to not only build up bicycling in the workplace but in their communities as well.”

Bicycle Friendly Businesses recognize bicycling as a critical part of supporting the health and wellbeing of their employees and communities, as evidenced by how many Bicycle Friendly Businesses are in the healthcare industry. In this round, Tampa General Hospital in Tampa, FL moved up to a Gold-level designated BFB and Kaiser Permanente in Folsom, CA, renewed its Gold-level status as well. Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, earned a Silver-level award as a first-time applicant with 10,990 employees, and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, which employs 32,000 people, moved up to a Bronze-level award from a previous Honorable Mention status earned in 2015, bringing the total number of hospitals and health agencies currently awarded in the BFB program to 82.

The Fall 2021 round also saw the rise of two Bicycle Friendly Businesses to Platinum-level: Touright Bicycle Shop, a bike shop in Little Falls, MN, with a total of two employees and RDG Planning & Design in Des Moines, IA, with a total of 74 employees. The 32 BFBs in this round employ a total of 89,877 people.

While bicycle shops, healthcare providers, and planning firms are well-represented in the Bicycle Friendly Business program, the program emphasizes that there is no single way for participating organizations to support bicycling, internally or externally. For example, among the reasons that RDG Planning & Design in Des Moines was promoted from Gold to Platinum this year was the company’s in-kind support for bicycle advocacy in their community. By offering office space to local and state advocacy groups, such as Street Collective and the Iowa Healthiest State Initiative, RDG shows how any business can bridge the gap between their organization and the greater bicycle community. 

Often, promoting bicycling in the community starts by getting more people on bikes at work, even if they aren’t commuting by bike. At newly elevated Gold-level Three Oaks Engineering in Durham, NC, their strategy to increase biking has been the addition of two shared use bikes for its 35-person staff and guests.

“By far, the most positive outcome of our company’s support for bicycling is how happy it makes the staff,” said Craig Young, the transportation group manager for Three Oaks Engineering. “For the first two years we were in business, only the bike commuters benefitted from our bike-friendliness. Now that everyone has access to shared use bikes, and there are nearby greenways and bike lanes, it feels like something that everyone can share in.”

In similar fashion, Arvada Gardeners, an all volunteer-run community garden and renewing Bronze-level BFB in Arvada, CO, ensures bike riders can enjoy their destination by offering designated bike parking and free tool usage at the garden so that cyclists don’t need to haul their own tools on every ride. 

“We encourage any and every business to support bicycling in their community and to submit a BFB application to receive recognition and feedback on how to improve. Our reviewers take size, type, location and other factors of a business into consideration when determining award levels and recommendations for improvements,” said Amelia Neptune, the League’s Bicycle Friendly America Program Director. “Taking a small step today to be better for those who bike can bring about big change in the future, for the individual, the business, and the community. We’ve learned to never underestimate a business or action because there is almost always something you can offer to be better for those who bike.”

If your business wants to take the next step in making bicycling better, applications for the Spring round of Bicycle Friendly Business awards are due on March 2, 2022 at 11:59 PM PT.

Apply for BFB status

About the Bicycle Friendly Business℠ program

Bicycle Friendly Business awards reflect local leaders’ ongoing work to build better places to bike and evaluate those efforts as part of a national movement. Each of the five levels of the Bicycle Friendly Business award – diamond, platinum, gold, silver, and bronze, plus an honorable mention category – provide a clear path for businesses to continuously improve. Visit bikeleague.org/business to learn more about the BFB program.

About the League of American Bicyclists

The League of American Bicyclists leads the national movement to create a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone. With a history dating to 1880, the League is committed to engaging diverse communities and building a powerful, unified voice for change around protecting and promoting the rights of people who bike.