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Bicycle Friendly Community

BFC Building Block: Bike Coordinator

By bikeleague | August 20, 2014

(Part of our ongoing Building Blocks of a Bicycle Friendly Community series.) I’m going to come right out and say it: Cities that have bicycle program managers or bike coordinators are far more bicycle friendly than those that do not -– even when the same amount of resources are being devoted to improving conditions for bicycling.

How Can Laws Promote Bicycling?

By bikeleague | July 28, 2014

The most bicycle friendly places are those that adopt city ordinances to help improve or promote bicycling. One easily visible example is a bicycle parking ordinance like the one in Santa Monica, Calif., which not only ensures an adequate supply of racks at destinations, but also requires event organizers to have monitored bicycle parking for 200 – 250 bikes if attendance is expected to reach 1,000 or more (requiring 3 attendants).

The Invisible BFC Building Block

By bikeleague | July 20, 2014

In all my travels, I’ve seen a lot of great things on the street, from green lanes to bike boxes. But those high-profile facilities are the result of something far less visible: words. For a truly Bicycle Friendly Community, before you can put paint to pavement, you need the laws and policies that legitimize and encourage safe cycling.

Bike Share’s Gender Gap

By bikeleague | June 27, 2014

All eyes were on New York City last year, as they launched the nation’s largest bike sharing system. With strong female ridership in places like Washington, D.C. and Minneapolis, there were high hopes that bikesharing in the Big Apple would boost the number of women biking. So the release of data showing Citi Bike skews heavily male left some folks scratching their heads.

BFC Steve: Top Win-Over Projects

By bikeleague | June 10, 2014

Yesterday, I talked about the “WOW” of Bicycle Friendly Communities. Perhaps the most important part of that “WOW” factor, is the “win-over projects.” I call them “win-over projects” because they tend to cause people to turn their heads (maybe even scratch their heads) and get them thinking that maybe bicycling could start working for them. The communities that are really seeing growth in bicycling have done something big and beautiful that people can’t help but notice. I’ve pulled together some of the best “win-over projects” I saw during my trips to Memphis and mutli-city tour of California.

The “WOW” of Bicycle Friendly Communities

By bikeleague | June 9, 2014

At some point during nearly every Bicycle Friendly Community visit, I find myself saying, “Wow!” Sometimes it’s late into a visit and might have nothing to do with infrastructure or city policy at all — like seeing a carpenter hauling a load of lumber in a hand-built wooden trailer behind his bike, or witnessing an empowered cyclist take the lane on a high-speed state highway during rush hour.

BFC Spotlight: Las Vegas

By bikeleague | May 23, 2014

Last week, we announced our latest round of Bicycle Friendly Communities, bringing the program to 303 BFCs in 48 states. Las Vegas, NV, is one of 18 new BFCs, receiving the Bronze-level award. We were struck by Las Vegas’s growth and blooming bike culture. Kristina Swallow, a program manager for the city’s Department of Public Works, wrote this story about Las Vegas’s rise as a Bicycle Friendly Community.

Bicycle Friendly Communities Released

By bikeleague | May 13, 2014

As we continue to celebrate National Bike to Work Week, the League of American Bicyclists today announced its latest round of Bicycle Friendly Communities (BFC). With nearly 40 million Americans bicycling in 2012 and U.S. bike commuting increasing more than 61% from 2000 to 2012, there’s growing consensus that making biking better is a key component of a healthy, livable community.

BFC Steve Hits the Road

By bikeleague | January 21, 2014

If you’re as passionate about bicycling as I am, my gig will sound like a dream: I get to travel the country, visiting cities to help them become more bike-friendly as part of the new expanded Bicycle Friendly Community program. And you can thank Trek and Trek’s retailers throughout the nation for making this possible.

A ‘Historic Day’ in Newport

By bikeleague | December 10, 2013

A couple months ago, we welcomed Newport, R.I., into the ranks of Bicycle Friendly Communities. We were especially happy here at the League to see Newport make strides because it is the birthplace of our more than 130-year-old organization. The City of Newport held a ceremony to celebrate its new Bronze-level BFC status last month, with remarks from the city’s mayor; member of the police department; Bari George, executive director of Bike Newport; and John Siemiatkoski, a member of the League’s board.