Wiki Wednesday: Bicycle-Friendly Communities Awards
Last week, the League of American Bicyclists announced the most recent additions to the ranks of Bicycle Friendly Communities, which means this StreetsWiki entry is ripe for an update:
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.
The League has been admirably stingy in doling out the coveted platinum rating. Now there’s a third city joining Portland and Davis at the top of the ranks: Boulder, Colorado. (New York’s a bronze.)
If, like me, you’re curious about how Boulder has become a great biking town, stay tuned to Streetfilms. Clarence Eckerson is on location this very moment, gathering footage and interviews to tell the story.
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