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The League of American Bicyclists announces a new round of Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) designations that includes 11 new and 14 renewing communities today at the Interbike Expo in Las Vegas, Nev. “The League congratulates all of our BFC winners for implementing successful, long‐term bicycle plans and programs that provide quality of life improvements for their citizens,” said League President Andy Clarke. “Cities are choosing investment in bicycling, even in tough economic times, as a key to building the places people want to live, work and visit.” There are now 190 BFCs in 46 states.

“We are proud of the roadmap that the Bicycle Friendly Community program provides for communities to build strong BFCs,” said Bill Nesper, Director of the League’s Bicycle Friendly America program. “We are especially pleased to see so many communities improving their award level.” New Orleans, La. has seen its number of bike commuters increase by more than 150% in the last five years. The city, which had received Honorable Mentions in three previous rounds, implemented the feedback we provided and received the bronze designation this time. New Orleans was recognized for their large biking population, bicycling education programs, a bicycling network that has tripled in length in the last three years and the strong bike culture seen in events like the NOLA Bike Bash.

In addition to the high percentage of new BFCs that had previously received no award or an Honorable Mention, more than half of the renewing BFCs moved to a higher award level including Breckenridge, Colo.; Scottsdale, Ariz.; Steamboat Springs, Colo. and La Crosse, Wis.

See all of the awardees after the jump:

Today we have sent a national alert asking you to call, e-mail or fax your Senators and ask them to protect funding for critical and popular bicycling and walking programs…

For sometime we’ve been concerned about the proliferation of rumble strips on shoulders that either don’t need them or that do not have at least 4 feet of remaining shoulder…

Well, we knew September was going to be busy…and sure enough we’re seeing the opening moves in a major attack on funding for bike projects and programs. This evening, the…

I’m very excited about the panel for Wednesday’s Club Leadership Webinar on Diversifying your Membership and Outreach. The issue is getting a lot of attention here in Washington, DC, lately…

Last week we got a call from the mother of the Tennessee child who was told “not to ride her bike to school”; the story is lighting up the blogosphere…

This morning at a White House briefing in the Rose Garden, President Obama, flanked by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumpka and officials from the U.S.…

Health and bicycling advocates are teaming up to fight a battle that will determine whether an Interstate-90 bridge connecting Minnesota and Wisconsin will accommodate cyclists for the next 100 years or  be…

If yesterday’s East Coast earthquake and the subsequent scramble to get home taught us anything, it may be that there is no better vehicle in emergency situations than the bicycle. As traffic in downtown…

Last week, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance won the first phase of its campaign to bring a bike share system to Portland, when the Portland City Council voted in support of $2 million in Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (MTIP) money for a capital investment in bike sharing.

The BTA also received a $3,000 Advocacy Advance Rapid Response grant to build on this success and prepare for the next phase of the campaign: to build on this success and prepare for the next phase of the campaign.