Bicycle-Friendly Communities Awards

Bicycle-Friendly Communities Awards

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Overview

The Bicycle-Friendly Communities Campaign is an awards program administered by the League of American Bicyclists that recognizes municipalities actively supporting bicycling. [1] Cities wishing to be designated a Bicycle-Friendly Community complete an application which covers bicycling facilities as well as related traffic enforcement, promotion of bicycling, and education of bicyclists and drivers to create a better environment for bicycling.

The League of American Bicyclists recognizes newly designated Bicycle Friendly Communities with an awards ceremony, a Bicycle-Friendly Community road sign, and a formal press announcement. As of May 2008, only two communities -- Davis, California, and Portland, Oregon – had received a platinum rating, the highest available. There were 82 cities designated gold, silver, or bronze. A total of 212 communities had applied for BFC designation since the program’s inception in 2003.

Benefits

Encouraging bicycling is a simple way to improve public health. With more people bicycling, communities experience reduced traffic demands, improved air quality and greater physical fitness. In addition, bicycle-friendly towns are often seen as places with a high quality of life. This can translate into increased property values, business growth and increased tourism.

How to Apply

Applicants complete a detailed on-line form with numerous questions in five key areas: engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement, and evaluation/planning. Local cyclists, national experts, and League staff review the applications. For the complete list of Bicycle Friendly Communities and more information on the program visit

There are two steps to apply for Bicycle Friendly Community status:

First, complete and submit Part 1 of the application. After a review of your general community profile, the League will inform you if you have met some of the basic criteria required.

Part 2 is a detailed audit of the engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement and evaluation efforts in your municipality. This comprehensive inquiry is designed to yield a holistic picture of your community's work to promote bicycling. Technical assistance for completing Part 2 is available.

Award Determination

A committee reviews and scores the application and consults with local cyclists in your community. An award of platinum, gold, silver or bronze status is designated for four years. The League and technical assistance staff will continue to work with awardees and those communities that do not yet meet the criteria to encourage continual improvements.

The Bicycle Friendly State Program

In 2008, the League launched the Bicycle Friendly State program. The goal is to promote cycling through state legislation, policies, programs, and bicycle facilities.

The Bicycle Friendly State Program is a two part recognition program that ranks and recognizes states that actively support bicycling. First, states are ranked annually based on their level of bike-friendliness. Secondly, states that wish to apply for a Bicycle Friendly State award designation can receive further recognition and promotion of their efforts as well as feedback, technical assistance, training and further encouragement to improve their bicycling legislation, projects, and programs.

Based on a questionnaire involving six factors, the League ranked all 50 states. As of 2008, California ranked 7th, New York 34th. The highest and lowest scoring states overall were:

Top 5

1. Washington
2. Wisconsin
3. Arizona
4. Oregon
5. Minnesota

Bottom 5

46. North Dakota
47. Mississippi
48. Alabama
49. Georgia
50. West Virginia

For more information on the State rankings, click here.