American Bicyclist March/April 2009

March/April 2009 www.bikeleague.org

League of American Bicyclists

Working for a Bicycle-Friendly America

2009 BICYCLE FRIENDLY AMERICA YEARBOOK

TABLE OF CONTENTS

bicycle friendly america......................... 2 ranking the states.................................... 8 bicycle friendly communities................. 10 COMMUNITIES Boulder, CO............................. 10 Davis, CA................................ 12 Portland, OR............................ 13 PLATINUM

GOLD COMMUNITIES Corvallis, OR........................... 15 Fort Collins, CO........................ 16 Jackson & Teton Co., WY........... 17 Madison, WI............................ 18 Palo Alto, CA........................... 19 San Francisco, CA.................... 20 Seattle, WA............................. 21 Stanford University, CA............. 22 Tucson/East Pima Reg., AZ....... 23

COMMUNITIES Arlington, VA........................... 24 Austin, TX............................... 24 Bellingham, WA....................... 25 Chicago, IL.............................. 25 Colorado Springs, CO............... 26 Durango, CO........................... 26 Eugene, OR............................. 27 Folsom, CA.............................. 27 Gainesville, FL......................... 28 Minneapolis, MN...................... 28 Missoula, MT........................... 29 Olympia, WA........................... 29 Presidio of San Francisco, CA.... 30 San Luis Obispo, CA................. 30 Santa Barbara, CA................... 31 Santa Cruz, CA........................ 31 Scottsdale, AZ......................... 32 Steamboat Springs, CO............ 32 Tempe, AZ.............................. 33 Wood River Valley, ID............... 33 SILVER

BRONZE COMMUNITIES Ada County, ID........................ 34 Albuquerque, NM..................... 34 Ann Arbor, MI.......................... 34 Arcata, CA.............................. 35 Arvada, CO............................. 35 Ashland, OR............................ 35 Auburn, AL.............................. 36 Bainbridge Island, WA.............. 36 Beaverton, OR......................... 36 Bend, OR................................ 37 Billings, MT............................. 37 Bloomington, IN...................... 37 Brentwood, CA........................ 38 Brunswick, ME......................... 38 Burlington, VT......................... 38 Carmel, IN.............................. 39 Carrboro, NC........................... 39 Cary, NC................................. 39 Chandler, AZ........................... 40 Charlotte, NC.......................... 40 Charlottesville, VA.................... 40 Chattanooga, TN..................... 41 Chico, CA................................ 41 Claremont, CA......................... 41 Coeur d’Alene, ID..................... 42 Columbia, SC.......................... 42 Denver, CO............................. 42 Flagstaff, AZ............................ 43 Gilbert, AZ.............................. 43 La Crosse, WI.......................... 43 Lawrence, KS.......................... 44 Lexington-Fayette Co., KY......... 44 Liberty Lake, WA..................... 44 Longmont, CO......................... 45 Louisville, KY........................... 45 Mesa, AZ................................ 45 Milwaukee, WI......................... 46

bicycle friendly businesses...................... 55 viewpoint.................................................... 63 index............................................................ 64 Mountain View, CA................... 46 New York, NY.......................... 46 Oceanside, CA......................... 47 Orlando, FL............................. 47 Oxford, MS.............................. 47 Park City, UT........................... 48 Port Townsend, WA.................. 48 Redmond, WA......................... 48 Roseville, CA........................... 49 Roswell, GA............................. 49 Sacramento, CA...................... 49 Salem, OR.............................. 50 Salt Lake City, UT.................... 50

San Jose, CA........................... 50 Santa Clarita, CA..................... 51 Schaumburg, IL....................... 51 Shawnee, KS........................... 51 Sitka, AK................................ 52 South Lake Tahoe, CA.............. 52 South Sioux City, NE................ 52 Spartanburg, SC...................... 53 St. Petersburg, FL.................... 53 Sunnyvale, CA......................... 53 Thousand Oaks, CA.................. 54 Vancouver, WA........................ 54 Washington, DC....................... 54

GOLD BUSINESSES Alta Planning + Design, Portland, OR...........................................56 Clif Bar & Company, Berkeley, CA................................................57 Landry’s Bicycles, Natick, MA......................................................58 Quality Bicycle Products, Bloomington, MN...................................59

SILVER BUSINESSES Community Cycles, Boulder, CO..................................................60 Ecology Action, Santa Cruz, CA...................................................60 REI Northbrook, IL, Northbrook, IL..............................................61

BRONZE BUSINESSES California Giant Berry Farms, Watsonville, CA...............................61 EasyStreet Online Services, Beaverton, OR...................................61 Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission, Roanoke, VA............62 Santa Cruz Seaside Company, Santa Cruz, CA..............................62 Urban AdvenTours, Boston, MA...................................................62 Whatcom Council of Governments, Bellingham, WA......................62

BICYCLE FRIENDLY

“W

e are truly thrilled by this honor, and I can not overstate how critically important the designation has been to us,” wrote Mayor Richard Howorth of Oxford, Miss. “The rigorous application process provided a structure that required our Pathway Commission and the Board of Aldermen to intensify our planning efforts — greatly enhancing our knowledge of countless aspects of making our city a better, safer place for bicycling and strengthening our ability to execute those plans. I must add that having been turned down for designation in a previous application only made us work harder!”

Letters like this are how we know the League’s Bicycle Friendly America program is not only working, it’s thriving. These

are also good reminders that our hope in building a country that is great for cycling is not only a Washington, D.C. dream, but something shared and worked for on Main Street. We have a front row seat in seeing bicycling transform America. These programs are designed to recognize the great achievements already being made and to provide assistance for states, cities and businesses to improve.

A small town in Mississippi has made huge strides specifically because of the Bicycle Friendly Community program. States near the bottom of our 50-state ranking have begun enacting legislation to improve conditions for bicyclists. Businesses are competing to be ranked higher than their competitors — and the Bicycle Friendly Business program is not even a year old.

The barriers to bicycling in U.S. communities are plain to see. Even muchvaunted Portland pales by comparison to your average Dutch or Danish community when it comes to cyclist education, infrastructure, parking and promotion. We are starting from a different place and what’s exciting is seeing change unfold before our eyes, sometimes in unexpected places. We see dots popping up all over the map representing new Bicycle Friendly Communities (welcome Billings, Mont.!). We see a state ranked last in the country, West Virginia, holding their first statewide bicycle symposium in April. We see unexpected businesses in unexpected places applying for the Bicycle Friendly Business award.

We see an amusement park in Santa Cruz, a brewery in Fort Collins and a regional planning commission in Roanoke vying To find out more, visit www.bikeleague.org

2 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

BICYCLE FRIENDLY AMERICA

AMERICA

By Bill Nesper

for status as a Bicycle Friendly Business.

What we see, from a national perspective, when we look at the map, are communities blooming, businesses leading, and states improving.

The program started at the League in 1995, and the past 15 years have seen it evolve into the tool it is today — evaluating and improving bicycle friendly states, communities and businesses.

Evolution

For any applicant, in any of the three programs, the process takes a time commitment. But, it wasn’t always this way. Back in 1995, the requirements to be designated as a BFC were pretty simple: answer four questions in the affirmative and send a check for a sign, and you were

in the program! We didn’t feel that set the bar quite high enough.

In 2002, the League convened an advisory group in Washington, D.C. to overhaul the program. Leaders in bicycle advocacy, city planners, and industry experts gathered to look at the program and see how it could improve. The program in its current form was born at this meeting.

By the end of 2002, a new application was launched, with in-depth requirements covering the newly coined Five Es — Engineering, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement and Evaluation — and the first communities in the new program were designated in 2003.

Now the program requires an indepth assessment of what’s really going on in the community related to bicycling.

The League added 21 new communities to the list this year and promoted five to higher levels. See page 4 for information on how to make your community a Bicycle Friendly Community.

The program enables communities to truly benchmark their progress against similar sized or comparable places. A renewal process has been built into the program to ensure no community is able to coast or rest on its laurels. And the four levels of award have provided a clear incentive to keep doing more.

“We are truly thrilled by this honor, and I can not overstate how critically important the designation has been to us.”

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

-Mayor Richard Howorth of Oxford, Miss.

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

3

SNAPSHOT

The Programs, How to Apply, and Who to Talk to The applications are designed to be part of the learning process — asking in-depth questions that bring people from various parts of the community, business or state together to build a comprehensive picture of where the applicant is and where they should go. Filling out the application, receiving the feedback and talking to League staff members are all important parts of the process, separate from the actual award.

Thanks to the generosity of the League’s sponsors, all Bicycle Friendly America applications, questions and feedback are provided with no charge. It is free to participate in this program.

Bicycle Friendly Business

Program Lead: Alison Dewey alison@bikeleague.org, 202-621-5443 2009 Deadlines: January 16 and July 19 The Bicycle Friendly Business application is designed to be filled out by a human resource person or a staff member who knows about the company’s work on behalf of bicyclists.

Bicycle Friendly Community

Program Lead: Bill Nesper bill@bikeleague.org, 202-621-5444 2009 Deadlines: March 13 and August 7 Someone affiliated directly with the community, whether working for it directly or as an advocate working in conjunction with a city staff member, fills out the Bicycle Friendly Community application online.

Bicycle Friendly State

Program Lead: Jeff Peel jeff@bikeleague.org, 202-621-5445 State Ranking Deadline: March 13 Award Designation Deadline: March 13 State bicycle coordinators from all 50 states filled out a 70-item questionnaire in 2008. The 2009 version will allow us to track progress and re-rank with new information. The optional award application and designation is for states that want to apply for further recognition and in-depth feedback on their bicycling efforts.

“When Spartanburg, S.C. earned its designation in 2007, no one wanted to see the momentum die.”

4 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

-Jean Crow, Partners for Active Living in Spartanburg

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

BICYCLE FRIENDLY AMERICA

Turning Feedback into a Roadmap

The changes were apparent immediately. The new program’s in-depth feedback to applicants has transformed communities. Every city, awarded or not, receives feedback from the League’s panel of reviewers, which includes local cyclists and nationally recognized experts. This feedback acknowledges the good things that are present in the community and presents a roadmap of proposed policies, programs, and projects to move the community forward.

Carmel, Ind., just north of Indianapolis, has about 70,000 residents — very few of whom ride to work. They first applied for BFC designation in 2003, largely on the strength of a multi-use path that runs through the community. In their feedback, the League told them that wasn’t enough.

Specifically, they needed to get people to the trail, improve access and crossings, start teaching bike safety in schools and start some promotional events to get people riding. Since then, they’ve striped

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

bike lanes, started a community bike ride with 2,000 riders, passed a bike parking ordinance, trained city staff and emergency personnel to be bike safety instructors, and approved more than $6 million of bonds for trails. They were awarded a bronzelevel designation in 2006.

Benchmarking Success

The new application also encouraged designated communities to keep improving. Its revised form, with more than 50 in-depth questions, forces each community to take a comprehensive look at its programs and policies as they relate to bicycling. This benchmark serves as a snapshot of where they were when they applied and as a comparison for where they are when they renew. “When Spartanburg, S.C. earned its designation in 2007, no one wanted to see the momentum die,” said Jean Crow, associate director of Partners for Active Living in Spartanburg.

“The city agreed to support another multiyear effort to reach a higher level designation by 2011. That commitment, along

The Bicycle Friendly Community process helps a community assess where they are and how they are doing; and through our renewal process, the program shows them how far they have come (or not).

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

5

with the specific feedback provided by the League, has already led to the development of a new county and citywide Bicycle & Pedestrian Master Plan and a localized mode-share study for the entire county.”

Renewed Commitment

The Bicycle Friendly Community process helps a community assess where they are and how they are doing; and through our renewal process, the program shows them how far they have come (or not). Renewals are required every four years for every community in the program, and the process works both ways. In 2005, Denver renewed but had not been able to fulfill many of the requirements outlined in their own community bike plan. While they are still a bicycle friendly community, the League downgraded their status from silver to bronze. This inspired Mayor John Hickenlooper to redouble the city’s efforts to improve, and they hope that their next renewal will bring them back to silver.

On the other hand, Tucson and the East Pima Region in Arizona used their

original status as a silver level community to launch an intensive effort to become platinum. With an areawide taskforce and the support of almost every local politician, the results have been astounding.

While they fell short of platinum in their 2008 renewal, they were upgraded to gold based on their remarkable achievements and impressive results. The reviewers were specifically impressed with community’s investment in infrastructure, including two custom bike/pedestrian bridges completed in the last two years.

Going Platinum

One of the most interesting results of the evolved program is the national jostling to become the first of a certain award level, like the first large-scale city to become Platinum, or the first Midwestern town to earn gold. Two of these contests were resolved in 2008, with Portland earning the first platinum designation for a large-scale city and Madison, Wis. winning the first Midwestern gold. It is inspiring for League staffers and bicyclists

“The application is an education in itself. Looking at the criteria in the application helped us refine our annual work plan, including setting measurable goals with accelerated timelines ... and spotlight[ing] areas that needed improvement” -Peter Lagerwey, Seattle Dept. of Transportation

nationwide to see this kind of passion to improve cities for bicyclists. It is just the kind of result we couldn’t have imagined when the program was launched, and we hope to continue and grow in the coming years.

Bringing It All Together

The revised 2003 application vastly improved the process, but we’ve made great strides since then. We launched the Bicycle Friendly Yearbook (which you are holding in your hand) in 2006 — the book did more than we dared hope, showing readers and members how broad this movement is: from towns of 5,000 people to the largest city in America, everyone can build a better place for bicyclists.

Because the application focuses on five different categories, communities that are making strong, measurable efforts in one area can be recognized. A bronze is a

It is inspiring for League staffers and bicyclists nationwide to see this kind of passion to improve cities for bicyclists.

6 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

BICYCLE FRIENDLY AMERICA

Some Help from Our Friends...

The Bicycle Friendly America program has been generously supported throughout its many years by: Bikes Belong, Trek’s One World Two Wheels Program, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and many volunteer hours by too many people to mention. We appreciate their vital and continued support.

much better community for cycling than one that is turned down for an award, but still has a long way to go before becoming platinum. The varying levels help us reward communities based on what they’ve accomplished.

Even the big communities, the ones that have been working on cycling issues for 30 years, have found the process rewarding and inspiring. “The application is an education in itself,” said Peter Lagerwey, senior transportation planner for the Seattle, Wash. Department of Transportation. “Looking at the criteria in the application helped us refine our annual work plan, including setting measurable goals with an accelerated timeline. It put a spotlight on areas that needed improvement and helped us to re-prioritize some of our efforts. Lastly, filling out the application required that we work closely with other agencies and the bicycling community. It was a team effort that brought us together and helped us all realize the cumulative effect

of all the good things we were doing to promote safe cycling.”

We rely on our national advisory group to make sure that we are collecting the most pertinent information. In the past two years, we’ve found some holes in the application and worked hard to fill them in. Specifically, a community’s work to improve recreational cycling by providing velodromes, mountain biking facilities and BMX parks were not included in our questions. Amending this was part of why Park City, Utah scored highly, with their great connectivity between transportation and recreational cycling.

Growing, Changing, Improving

We are working, changing and improving every day as we build a Bicycle Friendly America. Through generous grants from Trek’s One World Two Wheels program and the Bikes Belong Foundation, we now have three full-time staff members offering direct assistance to businesses, communities and states. We offer Bicycle Friendly Community Workshops and local Bicycle Summits — 38 in 21 states so far.

Our feedback to applicants continues to improve and assist mayors, business owners, and state governments who recognize the importance and intelligence of building for bicyclists.

This program, this country, is on the right track. This yearbook is proof.

Read on to learn about the current BFSs, BFCs and BFBs. Please join us in building a Bicycle Friendly America.

This program, this country, is on the right track.

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

7

RANKING THE STATES

A

s part of the expansion of programming in 2008, the Bicycle Friendly State program fills the gap between our federal level advocacy and work with communities throughout the country. The League and advocates must address legislation, policies and funding at the state level order to truly build a Bicycle Friendly America. The Bicycle Friendly State Program is a two-part recognition program that ranks and recognizes states that actively support bicycling.

States are ranked from first to fiftieth based on their level of bicycle friendliness. The scoring is based on responses to a 75-item questionnaire evaluating a state’s commitment to bicycling and covers six key areas: legislation; policies and programs; infrastructure; education and encouragement; evaluation and

2008

STATE RANKINGS* #1

Washington

*Top 10 appear in color on the map

8 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

planning; and enforcement. These state rankings were first conducted in 2008 (results below) and will be conducted annually, with questions and methodology remaining consistent to track progress.

States that wish to apply for a Bicycle Friendly State 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. A Bicycle Friendly State promotes cycling through legislation, policies, programs and by creating new places to ride — educating motorists and cyclists and encouraging people to bike for transportation and recreation.

2

Wisconsin

7

California

3

Arizona

8

Illinois

4

Oregon

9

New Jersey

5

Minnesota

10

New Hampshire

6

Maine

11. Utah 12. Michigan 13. North Carolina 14. Hawaii 15. South Carolina 16. Massachusetts 17. Vermont 18. Wyoming 19. Nevada 20. Florida 21. Iowa 22. Colorado 23. Virginia 24. Indiana 25. Kansas 26. Louisiana 27. Rhode Island 28. Missouri 29. Kentucky 30. Texas

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

46.

47.

48.

49.

50.

Delaware Ohio Nebraska New York Maryland Tennessee Idaho Pennsylvania Arkansas Alaska South Dakota Connecticut Oklahoma Montana New Mexico North Dakota Mississippi Alabama Georgia West Virginia

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

BICYCLE FRIENDLY STATES

Why Washington is #1 “I am proud to have Washington recognized as a leader in our efforts to encourage people to ride bicycles for recreation and as a transportation choice. There are many in the state who have worked hard to improve safety, education and facilities for cyclists across the state. All bicycle riders — children, recreational, and commuters — benefit as a result of these efforts.”

-Washington Governor Christine Gregoire “The number one Bicycle Friendly State designation recognizes the hard work that is happening across Washington.

Cooperation among local and state agencies, bicycle groups, and health professionals has been a key ingredient. The designation is also an incentive to continue to refine and develop projects, policies, and priorities to retain the position as the nation’s number one Bicycle Friendly State.”

-Ian Macek, Washington State Bicycle & Pedestrian Coordinator “We are fortunate to have strong partnerships between local and state agencies, bicycle groups and healthcare providers who are dedicated to increasing opportunities for bicycling while reducing bicycle injuries and deaths. In Washington, we’ve developed priorities and strategies to improve bicycle connections, increase statewide coordination, and make biking a viable commute option.”

-Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond “As glimpses of the Cascades and Olympics sail by at 50 mph, one wonders why you would ever drive through a state as magnificent as Washington. Fortunately, we can bike, providing just the right speed to absorb the natural beauty. In Washington, more people are taking advantage of this opportunity every day. Riding across Seattle’s Fremont Bridge, the busiest bike-bridge in Washington, at 5:30 p.m. makes the European model of a bike friendly city seem within reach. In September 2008, close to 800 bicyclists were observed on this bridge in two hours. Due to the persistent efforts among the bicycle advocacy community and political and governmental leadership, the State of Washington has established itself as a state worth biking for. While Washington continues to strive to provide optimal levels of bicycle support in all situations, the state has made huge gains in a relatively short period of time.”

-Chuck Ayers, Cascade Bicycle Club

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

Adding Fuel to the Fire in Wisconsin “One of the things that helps Wisconsin succeed with our bicycle programs and policies is the positive working relationship between our state Department of Transportation and advocates. While there can be some ‘gentle nudging’ from time to time on issues, overall we both understand we’re after the same end results.

While we feel Wisconsin is the best state in the country for bicycling, our 2nd place ranking gives us added incentive and fuel for pursuing better and more frequent bicycling facilities, improved legislation and political support to continue to foster more bicycling in Wisconsin. The feedback on our ranking has given both of us a pointed task list for the year. We hope to have Wisconsin recognized as one of the new Bicycle Friendly States through the new award recognition program. Working to achieve Gold or Platinum status will not only be a good measure of success for our communities, but now for the state as a whole.”

-Jack Hirt, Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin -Tom Huber, Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation

Working to Improve Mississippi “As the new Executive Director for Bike Walk Mississippi, I’ve found the Bicycle Friendly State program extremely useful in that it provides me with an overall review of how our state performed the previous year. I can’t say I’m happy with the rank of 47th, but Mississippi too often finds itself at the bottom of every good list and at the top of every bad list. Though not something to be proud of — it’s more of a challenge to make the improvements necessary and have the friendly competition with the states surrounding. The program also pinpoints where to improve and what we are doing well. I stick to my wheels and hope we climb higher each year! League staff has been there with support since I started. With their assistance, we have examples of bike-friendly state legislation and three more communities planning to apply for Bicycle Friendly Community recognition in the coming year!”

-Karen Mogridge, Executive Director, Bike Walk Mississippi

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

9

PLATINUM SILVER

BOULDER

COLORADO

2008 UPGRADE Community Highlights: After many years of top-notch

investments and community action, Boulder has received the welldeserved Platinum designation from the League. Boulder’s bicycle network and services for cyclists is second to none. The city employs a Complete Streets approach when considering major transportation facility enhancements and maintains their bikeways to highlevel transportation standards. Separate snow removal crews begin plowing the city’s multi-use paths at exactly the same time that other crews are plowing city streets. At least 95 percent of arterial streets have bike lanes or trails on them. The city’s site GOBikeBoulder.net helps cyclists navigate the city’s 380 mile network of bike facilities by offering turn by turn biking routes, miles traveled and calories burned, as well as CO2 and gas saved by not driving. The expansive bike network has even led local real estate agents to showing homes by bike in an effort to highlight the location’s proximity to the network.

Recently 100 inverted U racks were installed in addition to the 125 loop-and-post converted parking meters, which were implemented after multi-spot meters were introduced.

GOBikeBoulder.net is a pilot program funded by a federal grant and GO Boulder/City of Boulder. The goal is to reduce vehicle miles traveled, thus cutting pollution and congestion.

BFC Since: 2004

Population: 101,500

Boulder’s bicycling education and promotion programs have been the model for communities across the country. Twelve public and four private schools have Safe Routes to School programs to encourage more kids to walk and bike to school. Bear Creek Elementary was selected as the recipient of the 2008 James Oberstar Award for involving 70 percent of its students in walking and biking activities. More than 7,500 people participated in Boulder’s 2008 Bike to Work Day – an increase of 48 percent from 2007. During Walk & Bike Month there are more than 50 events including bike rides, walks, clinics, Park(ing) Spaces Day, contests between employers and individuals to encourage cycling and huge community gatherings.

Boulder’s investment has paid off. Bike use and other non-automotive modes of transportation have limited the growth in vehicular miles traveled in Boulder to approximately 1 percent annually since 1990.

Other encouraging efforts include the Buffalo Classic and Circle Boulder by Bike events. Community Cycles, Singletrack Mountain Bike Adventures and Y-Riders offer youth-oriented programming to foster responsibility, peer support and to keep young people active in cycling.

Boulder has continued to improve conditions for all cyclists in the community and is working to better accommodate mountain bikers and other recreational cyclists. The Boulder Mountain Bike Alliance and the Boulder Parks and Recreation Departments have been collaborating on the upcoming Valmont Bike Park. New partnerships like these are promising for the future of Boulder and a model for cities everywhere.

Boulder has shown its commitment to building a world class BFC. Twenty years ago, Boulder’s transportation system mirrored that of any town USA. In the late 1980s Boulder’s city council began looking closer at transportation policy and its impacts on the city’s budget, character and quality of life. The result was a new direction in

Square Miles: 24

10 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

creating transportation options to increase mobility. This vision became the basis for the Boulder’s Transportation Master Plan (TMP).

Through its guiding principles, the plan has led to more than 300 miles of bikeways, 74 bike and pedestrian underpasses offering uninterrupted travel, dedicated bicycle facilities on 95 percent of arterial streets, bikeways given the same priority as roadways in maintenance and snow removal, and a complete streets focus on roadway design and implementation.

“From our award-winning Safe Routes to School programs to being the home of the Garmin-Slipstream Pro Cycling Team, cycling is an integral part of our community. Not only is bicycling important for transportation and recreation, but it addresses significant health issues and is woven into our commitment to a more sustainable future.”

- Mayor Shaun McGrath (pictured above on left)

Most Significant Recent Accomplishment: Boulder

The most compelling community statistic: Rider-

has a clear dedication to completing their bikeway system. Integrating transportation and recreation in a truly comprehensive network, Boulder has made cycling a great way for its residents to get around and enjoy themselves. Boulder made significant gains in recreational cycling during 2008. Construction of the one-of-a-kind 45-acre Valmont Bicycle Park is anticipated to begin in spring 2009 with a goal of opening the park in late fall 2009. Additionally, 11 miles of mountain bike trails on Open Space and Mountain Park lands have been added in the last two years. Boulder has once again moved to the head of the pack with its innovative initiatives and investments.

ship continues to go up throughout the community. Boulder’s 2007 to 2008 surveys show a 20 percent increase in bicycling in summer months and a 30 percent increase in bike use on Bike to Work Day. Similarly, bike parking counts in the downtown district increased by an average of 28 percent.

Best Result of Designation: Boulder’s Parks and Recre-

ation department and GO Boulder worked in partnership to host the Athletes Holiday Gathering, a City Council supported event, to recognize more than 20 local Olympic and elite athletes that live and train in Boulder. Mayor Shaun McGrath also honored the economic and cultural contributions of Boulder’s active living, business and broad-based community efforts which factored in to Boulder’s Platinum award. The award also helped push forward efforts to improve singletrack access and recreational cycling opportunities in the city.

CONTACT: Marni Ratzel • (303) 441-4138 • ratzelm@ci.boulder.co.us

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

11

PLATINUM SILVER

DAVIS

CALIFORNIA

Community Highlights: When Davis began planning for

bicycles nearly 40 years ago there were no local, state or national guidelines so the city researched and developed their own. When the California Department of Transportation (CALTRANS) began formulating its own guidelines years later, much of their work was loosely based on what Davis had developed. Then when national guidelines were developed, a majority were based on what CALTRANS had done. Davis’ work from 40 years ago has had a dramatic trickle-down effect on communities throughout the country — an amazing progression of research, planning and design. The city has changed state laws to favor bicycling, and Davis continues this work today. Davis has grown from 6,000 to 60,000 residents with bicycling at the core of its comprehensive plan. There are more bikes in Davis than there are cars — bike lanes are on approximately 95 percent of all its arterials and collectors.

Davis budgets approximately $100,000 per year for bike path maintenance and has just initiated another bicycle undercrossing project of a major arterial. Davis has two full-time bicycle coordinators and a seven member Bicycle Advisory Commission, and U.C. Davis has a separate Bicycle Programs Committee. During the month of May the city holds a monthlong bicycle celebration called Cyclebration that includes one double century, a bike auction, a historic bike tour and a bike commute day. City residents voted to do away with public school busses many years ago, so now many children walk or bike to school. There is a comprehensive local bike map with tips and resources on the back, and the university offers Smart Cycling courses and has League Cycling Instructors (LCI) on staff. The university has a car lockdown during class changes to ensure cyclists have the right of way. Bicycling is core to the community’s identity — so much so that Davis’ logo is a bike.

BFC Since: 2005

Population: 63722

Square Miles: 10.5

12 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

Most Significant Recent Accomplishment: “Bike

lanes, bicycle traffic signals and scenic trails permeate our community.

With our commitment to bicycling and sustainability, Davis is proving that bicycling in our society makes more sense than ever. One of our favorite local expressions is that ‘There are more bicycles in Davis than cars.’ With our large and enthusiastic bicycling community, Davis is the site of many outstanding bicycle events throughout the year.

Together with U.C. Davis, our town’s support for bicycle programs and facilities are known throughout the country. We truly are Bike Town USA.” - Mayor Ruth Uy Asmundson.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: Davis’ num-

ber of bicycle commuters is an inspiring 14 percent, which is roughly 35 times the national average

“We truly are Bike Town, USA.” — Mayor Ruth Uy Asmundson

Contact: Tara Goddard • (530) 757-5669 • tgoddard@cityofdavis.org

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

PLATINUM

PORTLAND

OREGON

2008 UPGRADE “When Portland received the gold award in 2003, we challenged the community to increase ridership to get to platinum. Bold leadership, community-wide involvement, and a lot of hard work have resulted in a 144 percent increase in bicycle use since the 2000 Census — impressive results by any standard.”

-President of the League Andy Clarke Community Highlights: Portland is Platinum! Bicycle provi-

sions and promotion is integrated into almost every action taken by Portland – beginning in the mayor’s office, down to actions taken by maintenance crews on the streets. Portland has a seamless and varied bicycle network that connects all parts of the city and has proven success. Portland dramatically increased its bicycle use and has a strong bicycle culture where all types of cyclists can find limitless opportunities to enjoy riding a bicycle. Annually there are an estimated 2,100 rides, races or other events held to encourage cyclists – an average of six per day – and they draw more than 40,000 participants. Portland’s increased ridership comes with an increased focus on safety through a Share the Road ticket diversion program, newly installed side underrun guards on all city trucks and an Eye to Eye campaign. The Bicycle Transportation Alliance offers one of the nation’s leading Safe Routes to School programs. The Community Cycling Center also offers an exciting Create a Commuter program that donates a fully outfitted commuter bike, requisite commuting gear and bike safety training to low income adults. In Portland 60 percent of downtown police officers are on bike. More than 1,000 traffic offenders (including cyclists) have been through a two-hour Share the Road safety class. Portland recently constructed a bicycle facility along a segment of roadway through a transit center that provides a direct connection between two popular bikeways in Central City and improved the

BFC Since: 2003

Population: 533,492

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

Square Miles: 134.3

safety of intersections across town by implementing bicycle boxes.

With support of local merchants and to meet a surging demand, Portland has provided six on-street bicycle parking sites — offering parking for 12 bikes for every car parking spot removed. Not content to stop there, Portland has also engaged in a high level update of its bicycle master plan, expanding the city’s infrastructure and programs to improve off-road riding access. Portland is looking to rework their policies, designs and bikeway networks to set the stage for transforming itself into a true world class bicycling city. Stay tuned!

Most Significant Recent Accomplishment: Portland

has three significant achievements from the past year: One, Portland introduced big, green and highly visible bicycle boxes at intersections.

Two, the town removed on-street auto parking spaces at the request of adjacent businesses at many highly-visible locations in favor of on-street bicycle parking. Three, Portland opened up a direct bicycle facility in a transit center that is a crucial link between two of Portland’s higher volume bikeways.

The most compelling community statistic: By sever-

al measures, bicycle ridership increased significantly in Portland this year. Their 2008 annual counts, based on 68 locations, demonstrated a 28 percent growth in citywide ridership compared to 2007. The 2008 City Auditor’s Office’s annual survey found that eight percent

Portland’s bikeway network includes 270 miles of on-street bike lanes, bike boulevards, and paved trails; another 6 miles of singletrack and 40 miles of bike accessible trail offer mountain biking opportunities in city parks.

Contact: Roger Geller • (503) 823-7671 • roger.geller@pdxtrans.org

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

13

PLATINUM SILVER

PORTLAND

OREGON (CONTINUED)

of Portlanders identified the bicycle as their primary commute vehicle and another 10 percent identified it as their secondary commute vehicle. Most compelling, Portland experienced zero bicycle fatalities in 2008 — the fourth time since 2000 there have been no fatalities.

Bicycle crashes dropped eight percent since 2007.

Best Result of Designation: The most positive outcome

of receiving the BFC designation has been a widespread resolve within the city bureaucracy, political class and by bicycle advocates that Portland needs to continue to push forward to maintain the platinum designation.

The value of the bicycle related industry to Portland’s economy has grown nearly 40 percent since 2006 and is now worth nearly $90 million, according to a Portland Economic Study conducted by Alta Planning + Design. Portland’s bicycle related industry spans from one person, custom pannier companies to locally roasted coffee delivered by bicycle and from renowned custom bike frames to bicycle component manufacturing. According to a city survey, 82 percent of businesses believe that the city’s bike friendly policies and infrastructure positively impact their business.

Portand distributes more than 400 bicycle light sets annually to low-income bicyclists with help from Tri-Met (the transit agency) and the Community Cycling Center.

BFC Since: 2003

Population: 533,492

Square Miles: 134.3

14 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

Contact: Roger Geller • (503) 823-7671 • roger.geller@pdxtrans.org

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

GOLD

CORVALLIS

OREGON

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS: Corvallis has a 22 percent bicycle

mode share according to the latest citizen survey, the highest in Oregon. Corvallis has bike lanes on 97 percent of arterial streets, week-long bicycle training for all fifth graders and a bicycle diversion program that allows cited bicyclists to take an education program in lieu of a ticket. The city’s police department fully participates at every Bicycle Commission meeting, and the city has developed many bicycle related educational materials that are available to the public. Bicycle/skateboard citations are one of the department’s performance measures. As the need arises, the community puts certain problem locations on the Directed Patrol lists.

The community’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission has a public comment period at the beginning of all of meetings, and the town’s web site encourages comments to staff or elected officials. Additionally, all of the alternative-mode literature encourages comments. As far as encouragement, the August in Motion initiative Get There Another Way Week is sponsored by the city and supported by Oregon State University and other local employers. The Intermodal Transit Mall, complete with bike racks and bike storage lockers, is a model for other communities to consider when organizing their own programs.

BFC Since: 2003

Population: 53,165

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

Square Miles: 13.83

Most Significant Recent Accomplishment: This year the Oregon State University added 28 bike lockers to their on-campus facilities, completed the reconstruction of the entry corridor to the university to accommodate bike lanes and improved bike/pedestrian crossings. The City also received $150,000 in Safe Routes To School funding to add covered bike parking and racks at two elementary schools and to continue bicycle education at all primary schools by hiring a half time coordinator to work on noninfrastructure encouragement programs.

Most compelling community statistic: The spike

in gas prices over the summer of 2008 saw a dramatic increase in use of transit and even a greater gain in bicycle ridership. The most recent city survey conducted by The National Research Center indicated a cycling mode share of 22 percent. The state also awarded contracts to begin construction of the city portion of a bike multimodal path that will eventually link Corvallis to the neighboring City of Albany.

Contact: Joe Whinnery • (541) 754-1730 • joe.whinnery@ci.corvallis.or.us

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

15

GOLD SILVER

FORT COLLINS

COLORADO

2008 UPGRADE COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS: Fort Collins, with its well

Most Significant Recent Accomplishment:

integrated on and off-street bicycle network, has a long history of a deep and abiding commitment to bicycling. Local programs continually promote bicycle riding as alternative transportation to individuals, businesses, groups and families. Fort Collins’ relatively flat terrain boasts 280 plus miles of wide bike lanes and 30 plus miles of bike trails that follow both the scenic Poudre River and Spring Creek. Bicycling is a fun, healthy and environmentally friendly way to see all that Fort Collins has to offer. The Fort Collins Bicycle Library lends bicycles to visitors, students and residents looking to explore the city. The city offers a variety of self guided tours from the “Bike the Sites” collection, including a Brewery Tour, Environmental Learning Tour and the Historic Tour. Fort Collins and the surrounding vicinity offers hundreds of miles of incredible road biking. From flat prairie and country roads to several steep canyons west of the City, Fort Collins offers world class road riding. Fort Collins also has miles upon miles of great mountain biking minutes from downtown. The city’s comprehensive Web site www.ci.fortcollins.co.us/bicycling provides information and links to numerous resources for bicycle safety.

Additionally, Fort Collins’ bike map contains safety information and is available at all public facilities throughout the city.

BFC Since: 2003

Population: 118,652

16 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

Square Miles: 46.5

The best achievement for Fort Collins is the growth and cohesiveness of the local bicycle culture. Their numerous educational and encouragement events and innovative bike programs, such as the FC Bike Library, are diverse and keep bicycling at the forefront of interest for residents and visitors alike.

Most compelling community statistic: The Ameri-

can Community Survey reported that 5.2 percent of Fort Collins commuting population travels by bicycle. There are currently nine active bicycle non-profit organizations the community.

Best Result of Designation: The BFC designation has

been instrumental in gaining local, regional and national press on the bike friendliness of the community. It has helped brand Fort Collins as a bicycle friendly community to its residents and visitors.

The town started the motto, in Fort Collins bicycling is a way of life!

Contact: Dave “DK” Kemp • (970) 411-2411 • DK@fcgov.com

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

GOLD

JACKSON & TETON COUNTY

WYOMING

2008 UPGRADE

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS: The 2008 iWalk-iBike-iBus to

School event encouraged more than 500 kids to bike to school last October, the highest participation rate in the event’s five year history. Teton County voters overwhelmingly approved $6 million in an optional 1 cent sales tax for a pathway connection between Wilson and the Town of Jackson. Jackson has developed a Pathway Master Plan that outlines non-motorized modes-shift goals, total number of paths and a complete streets guide for Teton County, Wyoming. The local non-profit, non-motorized advocacy group Friends of Pathways partners with the Wyoming Department of Transportation to organize Bike to Work events during June, including a bike to work day, and partners with the Sheriff ’s Department to co-sponsor a Kids Bike Rodeo. Over the past seven years, the city has consistently parked more than 400 bicycles each Fourth of July during Music in the Hole, a free concert that attracts about 5,000 participants. Friends of Pathways also sponsors bicycle valet parking during Fourth of July, the valley’s busiest day.

Most Significant Recent Accomplishment:

tion and Jenny Lake. Teton County approved or received grants for more than $9 million in bicycle infrastructure to be constructed in the next 3 years.

Most compelling community statistic: More than 45 miles of shared-use pathways in Teton County and Grand Teton National Park have been constructed since 1995.

Best Result of Designation: The Bicycle Friendly Com-

munity designation allows Jackson and Teton County to better promote Jackson Hole and Wyoming as a bicycling destination.

Jackson’s large, tourism-based economy relies heavily on recreational tourism. Being a bicycling friendly community provides an additional component to the region’s ability to attract tourists. The area was also able to update the obsolete town bicycling ordinances last fall, and the Bicycle Friendly Community designation gave a framework for the legal language they used to make conditions better for cyclists.

Grand Teton National Park completed phase one of its 42 mile pathway system with an eight mile section between Moose JuncBFC Since: 2006

Population: 8,647

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

Square Miles: 2.79

Contact: Brian Schilling • (307) 732-8573 • bschilling@ci.jackson.wy.us

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

17

GOLD SILVER

MADISON

WISCONSIN

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS: Mayor Dave Cieslewicz formed

the Platinum Biking City Planning Committee, members included leaders from the business and advocacy communities, to work in concert with city staff and the police department. The committee’s goals include achieving the Platinum BFC designation and to create a roadmap for Madison to become the best city in the country for bicycling. The committee’s report Making Madison the Best Place in the Country to Bicycle was adopted by the city council in 2008 and lays out an exciting future for cyclists in the city.

The bicycle is considered at every level of planning, design and engineering. Specific bicycle policies include a provision of all needed bicycle facilities when constructing or reconstructing city streets, including the requirements of bicycle traffic in the design of all traffic control devices. Almost all roadway projects funded with STP-Urban Program funding over the past 10 years have included bike lanes. Madison’s abundance of bicycle commuters ride all year long, even through Wisconsin winters. Madison’s Bike to Work Week is an entire week of activities and media promotions, with about 2,000 participants each year. Approximately 50 Madison police officers have been trained for bike patrol, and more are trained every year. Bicycle-mounted officers are used primarily for efficient movement in congested urban areas and at special events. In addition, the University of Wisconsin police and the Dane County Sheriff ’s Deputies have officers trained for bike patrol.

In 2008 Madison hosted the Mayors Innovation Project meeting, which focused in part on sustainable transportation. Mayors from across the country came to learn from their counterparts on building better cities and got a hands-on experience in this great city.

Madison makes a big deal of Bike to Work Week. The week is packed with activities and media promotions: including an Art Bike Parade, classes, rides, workplace challenge contests, workplace mentoring and brown-bag lectures, bike to school promotions, bike

BFC Since: 2006

Population: 221,551

18 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

Square Miles: 84.7

to shop promotions, a commuter race, an advocacy day, movies and a Final Fiesta party.

The most compelling community statistic: On

University Avenue, in the heart of downtown Madison and the University of Wisconsin campus, they have recorded 10,00012,000 bicycle trips per day at the peak and 2,000 plus trips per day in January’s bitter cold when the University is out of session for 3 weeks.

Contact: Arthur Ross • (608) 266-6225 • aross@cityofmadison.com

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

GOLD

PALO ALTO

CALIFORNIA

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS: Palo Alto has had a long-standing

commitment to being a city that is a great place to ride a bicycle for fun, transportation and for exercise. Palo Alto continues to strive to be more bicycle friendly and has embodied a vision for the future that includes continuing to transition auto trips to bicycle trips whenever possible. The city is continually working on programs and infrastructure that will encourage bicycling; including the Safe Routes to School Task Force, Education and Enforcement Programs, and capital projects.

Palo Alto offers youth and adult bicycle education programs in the Palo Alto Community Recreation Education program and throughout the Palo Alto Adult School.

Palo Alto has recently completed two major new bicycle facilities, including a rail line undercrossing and a new path and bridge over Embarcadero Road. Palo Alto has also completed the $5.1 million BFC Since: 2003

Population: 56,862

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

Square Miles: 23.6

Homer Undercrossing, a pedestrian/bicycle undercrossing of the Caltrain Commuter Rail line. The Homer Avenue Undercrossing enables bicyclists and pedestrians to cross under the Caltrain tracks (86 commuter trains a day). The tunnel is located 800 feet south of the Palo Alto Caltrain station and Bikestation facility. The tunnel is connected to the station platform via the Urban Lane bike path.

Best Result of Designation: Palo Alto programs have

greater visibility within the Bay Area and amongnst its residents.

Last October, the mayor launched Palo Alto Walks and Rolls as a broad-based coalition to encourage people to walk and bike more often, linking healthy commute choices to a less congested and greener community. The Bicycle Friendly Community designation was important in building the coalition and the city believes that including the encouragement activities along with engineering, enforcement and education are leading to more people riding bikes on their streets more often.

Contact: Gayle Likens • (650) 329-2136 • gayle.likens@cityofpaloalto.org

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

19

GOLD SILVER

SAN FRANCISCO

CALIFORNIA

The 2007 San Francisco counts showed a 15 percent increase in the number of cyclists compared to 2006.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS: The 2000 U.S. Census showed

that San Francisco had the highest percentage of residents who commute to work by bicycle among cities with a population of 500,000 or more. Bicycles are allowed on commuter rail within San Francisco, on commuter heavy rail – at least one car of each train has been retrofitted with interior bicycle racks, and on all ferries and bike rack equipped buses. There is even a bike shuttle across the Bay Bridge during rush hour. San Francisco promotes Bike Month with numerous events and activities, centering on Bike to Work Day. Bike to Work Day is their largest bicycling promotional event every year, with an estimated 35,000 people riding a bicycle in San Francisco that day.

The San Francisco Police Department is intimately aware of the concerns of cyclists, from safety on the streets and bicycle theft to injury collision reporting. The San Francisco Bicycle Program launched a highly successful, widespread bicycle safety ad campaign which received national attention for its message and design.

The campaign addressed current safety concerns for bicyclists in San Francisco; such as safety around buses, trucks, and large “The rigorous BFC application process provided a structure that required our Pathway Commission and the Board of Aldermen to intensify our planning efforts — greatly enhancing our knowledge of countless aspects of making our city a better, safer place for bicycling and strengthening our ability to execute those plans. I must add that having been turned down for designation in a previous application only made us work harder!”

– Mayor Richard Howorth

BFC Since: 2006

Population: 739,426

20 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

Square Miles: 47

San Francisco’s Journey to Work Data Census shows a 108 percent increase in bicycle trips from 1990 to 2000. vehicles, as well as lighting one’s bicycle starting in fall, sidewalk bicycling, and right-of-way respect. The city has an excellent partnership for promoting bicycling and educating cyclists and motorists with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC). The SFBC is undertaking an educational bike safety program for various kinds of professional drivers including taxi, USPS and other delivery drivers such as UPS and FedEx.

San Francisco has been at the cutting edge of innotative strategies to promote cycling and better accommodate cyclists. The city has removed car parking to make room for bike parking, placed two Bikestations in the city, distributed Watch for Bike stickers that are placed on the drivers-side rear view mirror on automobiles, and Mayor Gavin Newsome recently announced that San Francisco will be launching a pilot Bike Sharing program in 2009.

Best Result of Designation: The San Francisco Bicycle Program’s official recognition as a Bicycle Friendly Community has enabled the city to disseminate more information nationally and to utilize the BFC status as a stepping stone for further evaluation such as in the city’s latest benchmarking report.

MOST COMPELLING COMMUNITY STATISTIC: Bicycle col-

lisions have steadily declined from 412 in 1998 to 343 in 2006. At the same time, the number of bicycle commuters in the city nearly doubled between 1990 and 2000. Furthermore, citywide counts showed a 15 percent increase in bicycle traffic at 33 locations from 2006 to 2007.

Contact: Nick Carr • (415) 701-4468 • Nick.Carr@sfmta.com

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

GOLD

SEATTLE

WASHINGTON

NEW

COMMUNITY

Community Highlights: Seattle is a major player among the Bicycle Friendly Communities in the Pacific Northwest. The city’s new bicycle master plan is innovative and includes painting green bike lanes at a dozen locations and the 3.6 mile Chief Sealth Trail which is made of recycled materials. The plan calls for a 455 mile network that would place 95 percent of Seattle’s residents within a quarater mile of a bike facility. Implementation has been aggressive, with more than 50 miles of bike lanes and sharrows installed in the last two years. The City has also sent out thousands of flyers and door hangers to inform and educate residents in advance of new bicycle facility installations in their neighborhood. These documents include time sensitive information about temporary parking restrictions on the front and information on the back about what bicycle lanes and sharrows are and how bicyclists and motorists should properly use these facilities. Additionally, 429 bike racks have been installed in the past two years, including three on-street bike corrals.

Bicycle ridership is being encouraged through a partnership with Cascade Bicycle Club and their program Bike Smart Seattle.

BFC Since: 2008

Population: 563,374

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

Square Miles: 142

This program includes targeted community outreach that will reach every household in the city. Each year the program will target two of six city zones with a neighborhood-based bicycle encouragement and education campaign to increase bicycle ridership, trips and safety. Residents will be able to request bicycle information kits that include a bicycle map, safety information and a calendar of community programming that will be personally delivered by a bicycle ambassador. Bicycle ambassadors will also lead neighborhood clinics and participate in special events, such as low-cost helmet sales. The City has also contracted the Bicycle Alliance of Washington to distribute 20,000 of the Seattle Bicycling Guide Map per year. The map includes safety information for bicyclists and motorists. Seattle’s Police Departament has identified a lieutenant in the Traffic Division to serve as a point-person for bicycle issues and as a liaison to SDOT and the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board.

“Seattle is honored that our work on enhancing cycling citywide has been recognized by the League of American Bicyclists,” said Mayor Nickels (pictured on L). “Our Bicycle Master Plan laid out aggressive 10 year goals to triple the amount of bike usage and reduce bike accidents by a third, which is essential given the impact of cars on the environment. Being honored as a goldlevel Bicycle Friendly Community shows Seattle is in high gear in moving toward those goals.”

Contact: Megan Hoyt • (206) 684-7583 • megan.hoyt@seattle.gov

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

21

GOLD SILVER

STANFORD UNIVERSITY

CALIFORNIA

NEW

COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS: With more than 13,000 students,

faculty and staff, Stanford University needs to be able to move a large population in a relatively confined space — encouraging bicycle use is one of their strategies to do so. One-third of the Stanford’s roadways have bike lanes. In 2007 they installed 2 traffic circles to reduce conflict between pedestrians and cyclists, resulting in no reported crashes and more orderly flow of traffic. Just last year, more than 50 bike lockers and 175 bike racks were installed throughout campus, bringing total bike parking to more than 12,000. This is in addition to clothes lockers, showers and other amenities for commuting cyclists. Other encouragement efforts include valet bike parking at home football games and other events and a $282 stipend for bike commuting eligible members of the Commute Club. To encourage new students to bicycle, Stanford sponsors the Dormitory Road Show to discuss bike-safety and encourage helmet use, in addition to giving out 2,500 bike lights and 200 helmets. To further push home the safe cycling message, a pilot Bicycle Safety Diversion program was created for cyclists ticketed for traffic violations in lieu of fines.

Most Significant Recent Accomplishment:

Stanford made additions of secure bike parking and lockers, added new traffic circles, launched an education program for faculty and staff, and worked with campus health promotion programs to promote alternative transportation.

Most compelling Community Statistic: Stanford

has had great success with their new Bicycle Safety Diversion Class and have held 10 classes since the fall quarter, educating more than 400 plus students who opted to take the one hour bike safety class in lieu of paying a fine for a bike citation. Survey results indicated 100 percent of students learned something new about bike safety, would refer a friend to the class, and reported the class as exceptional and worthwhile.

BFC Since: 2008

Population: 13,315

22 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

Square Miles: 2.8

Best Result of Designation: An article which appeared

in the winter 2009 issue of Stanford Parents Magazine on the University’s successful bicycle safety program, engaged parents in the discussion and solicited ideas from them on bike safety related issues. Visit http://parents.stanford.edu/newsletter/09winter/scott.

Contact: Ariadne Delon-Scott • 650-725-2453 • adscott@stanford.edu

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

GOLD

TUCSON & EAST PIMA REGION

ARIZONA

Community Highlights: Tucson’s mayor and city council have passed a policy to include bike lanes on all new street construction, as well as on all reconstruction projects. Tucson has completed a number of innovative bridges to open up key blockages for cyclists. Tucson and Pima County are working together as equal partners in a Safe Routes to Schools Program to offer facility and educational improvements to elementary and secondary schools in the region and cycling education for users of all ages. Tucson and Pima County have also worked together to create a Share the Road guide for bicyclists and motorists that has been distributed to police, schools, libraries, bike shops, council offices and private businesses throughout the region.

Most Significant Recent Accomplishment: In

2008, the Tucson, Arizona and the Pima Eastern Region’s biggest achievements have again been in the area of increased education and enforcement efforts. The Pima County Bicycle and Pedestrian Program organizes bike rodeos for area schools and leads League education programs, like Traffic Skills 101 and 102, Kids 1 and 2, and Commuting classes.

Yearly, 3,120 children and 622 adults take classes. Enforcement achievements include substantial targeted enforcement efforts, focusing on both cyclists and motorists in high bicycle-use areas, and implementation of a bicycle-driver diversion program to offer safety classes to bicyclists who receive citations for traffic infractions.

BFC Since: 2004

Population: 512,023

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

Square Miles: 1924

Most Compelling Community Statistic: There are nearly 660 miles of on-street bikeways in the region, including more than 100 miles of local street bike routes; 550 miles of bike lanes and paved shoulders; and eight miles of shared bus and bike lanes. We also have more than 72 miles of shared use paths for a total of approximately 732 miles of designated bikeways.

Best result of Designation: The Gold Level Bicycle Friendly Community designation has energized officials and citizens alike and has led to a greater awareness in all levels of government and the community of how essential biking is to the region. The recognition is helping to create a genuine bike culture, whether it be for transportation, mountain biking, BMX, racing or for recreation.

Contact: Gabriel Thum • (520) 792-1093 • gthum@pagnet.org

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

23

SILVER

ARLINGTON

VIRGINIA

SILVER

AUSTIN

TEXAS

Community Highlights: Austin has a policy to accommo-

date cyclists on all new road projects; and in the past three years, Austin has reduced motor vehicle lanes on roadways to install bicycle lanes. The city offers great educational programs for adults and children, and Austin’s Municipal Court mandates the League’s motorist course to those cited for illegal behavior toward cyclists.

Austin’s Yellow Bike Project partners with schools in low income areas to provide after school programs focused on bicycle maintenance and promotion. The City of Austin has recognized the newly updated Austin 2020 Bicycle Plan as leading the community towards Gold status ranking.

Community Highlights: Bicycling is an integral part of Arlington’s transportation and recreation systems. Arlington has an integrated network of facilities that puts more than 90 percent of households in Arlington within a quarter mile of a designated bike facility. The community has an increasing population without increasing traffic. Representatives from the Department of Environmental Services and the Arlington Police Department worked with the county’s public school staff to assess conditions for walking and biking to school. Funding for solutions to problems identified by this process is included in the county’s capital improvement program.

Most Significant Recent Accomplishment:

Arlington’s major accomplishment of 2008 is the adoption of the Master Transportation Plan (MTP). The MTP incorporates Complete Streets policies, elevating non-motoized travel to parity with cars and establishing it as a legitimate and significant component of the County’s overall transportation vision.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: In 2008 Arlington began participating in the National Bicycle & Pedestrian Documentation Project. Measured against earlier counts, Arlington’s weekday bicycle usage has doubled in the past seven years.

BFC Since: 2003 Population: 200,226 Square Miles: 26 Contact: David Goodman • (703) 228-3709 • Dgoodman@arlingtonva.us

24 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

The Street Smarts Task Force (pictured above) was created to recommend to City Council how bicyclists and motorists can better coexist on Austin’s roadways. “Austin ranks as one of the top cycling cities in the nation — but we can always do better, especially when it comes to bikes and cars safely sharing the road,” Mayor Wynn said. “The Street Smarts Task Force will help move us in the right direction and make it easier for more Austinites to get out of their cars and onto their bikes — whether they’re commuting, training for fitness or just riding for fun.”

BFC Since: 2007 Population: 681,804 Square Miles: 271.8 Contact: Annick Beaudet • 512-974-6505 • annick.beaudet@ci.austin.tx.us

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

SILVER

BELLINGHAM

WASHINGTON

Community Highlights: Through the TravelSmart individualized marketing program pilot, the targeted area of Bellingham reduced drive-alone trips by eight percent and increased bicycle, walking and bus trips by an equal amount. The detailed data generated by the project demonstrated to the city council and the public the importance of bicycling (and walking and bus trips) in preserving quality of life. Bellingham partnered with the Whatcom Council of Governments on an innovative community trip reduction project that includes comprehensive bicycle education and outreach to adults and children.

Bellingham recently amended its Transportation Concurrency Management Ordinance, changing it from an autocentric focus to one that is multimodal. This will provide new incentives and opportunities for constructing bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and assist the City in meeting its goals of increasing mode shares of bicycle, pedestrian and transit trips. Currently, Bellingham has a 5 percent bicycle mode share.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: In 2008, 3,050 children participated in bike rodeos and 700 received bicycle education through school assemblies. Bellingham had 7,500 Bike to Work and School Day participants.

SILVER

CHICAGO

ILLINOIS

Bike Chicago is an annual three-monthlong series of hundreds of fun and educational events in Chicago neighborhoods — a great way to promote bicycling.

Community Highlights: Mayor Daley has made the goal to make the City of Chicago the most bicycle-friendly city in the United States. Bicycling Ambassadors teach drivers how to interact safely with cyclists, teach 30,000 children each summer and attend community events to deliver bike safety and road sharing information. The city’s pro-bicycling policies and growing bike culture have resulted in a steadily increasing rate of bicycling. The ambitious 2015 Bike Plan’s overall goals are to increase bicycle use so five percent of all trips under five miles are by bicycle and to reduce the number of bicycle injuries by 50 percent.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: The bikeway network has grown from 75 miles to 350 miles in the past 15 years. The city has a strong partnership with the Active Transportation Alliance whose staff manage many of the city’s bicycling programs.

“Creating bicycle-friendly communities is one of the smartest investments a city can make for the health of its residents and environment. The more Chicago can make bicycling accessible to all of its residents, the healthier and more productive the city will be.

From bike lanes to bicyclists’ rights, Chicago is on its way to become even more bicycle-friendly.”

-Rob Sadowsky, Executive Director, Active Transportation Alliance

BFC Since: 2006 Population: 73,460 Square Miles: 25.5 Contact: Kim Brown • (360) 778-7900 • kimbrown@cob.org

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

BFC Since: 2005 Population: 2,896,016 Square Miles: 234 Contact: Ben Gomberg • bgomberg@cityofchicago.org

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

25

SILVER

COLORADO SPRINGS

COLORADO

NEW

COMMUNITY Community Highlights: Colorado Springs’ dedication to cycling is illustrated in its adoption of a Complete Streets ordinance two and a half years ago. All users now, including cyclists, are considered in new roadway projects. Investments in infrastructure can be seen in improvements such as new surfacing and signage to the Flagship Pikes Peak Greenway, the nationally recognized road diet projects; the 14 new miles of bicycle lanes; and the new recreational cycling facilities, including five BMX / skate parks. This is in addition to Bike to Work events which typically attract more than 7,500 participants. Colorado Springs innovation extends to its funding, as many of its bicycling projects are possible through a Bicycle Tax. Most Compelling Community Statistic: In 1997, Colorado Springs voters approved a one-tenth of a cent sales tax for trails, open space and parks (TOPS). The TOPS tax generates about $6 million annually and has resulted in the development of almost 50 miles of new trail mileage and the acquisition and/or development of approximately 5,700 acres of parks and open space over the last 11 years.

Investments in infrastructure can be seen in improvements such as new surfacing and signage to the Flagship Pikes Peak Greenway, the nationally recognized road diet projects; the 14 new miles of bicycle lanes; and the new recreational cycling facilities, including five BMX / skate parks.

SILVER

DURANGO

COLORADO

NEW

COMMUNITY Community Highlights: With a bike mode share more than 10 times the national average and access to more than 700 miles of singletrack trails open for mountain biking, it’s no wonder that many past and present professional cyclists call Durango home. Not all Durango residents ride their bike for a living, and the city has worked hard to accommodate cyclists of all abilities with the 12 miles of paved pathways, including newly completed Animas River Trail and 22 miles of designated bike lanes. These efforts are helped along through a sales tax increase to fund trails, open space and the grassroots organization Trails 2000. Durango is also host to the 40 year old, two day Iron Horse Bicycle Classic; a 1,200 participant Bike to Work Day celebration; and a stop on Tour de Fat. Durango’s education efforts include partnering with the Colorado Department of TransLast year, Durango voters portation in the Share the Road approved a .25 percent sales media campaign to educate the tax increase to fund trails and public and an annual Bicycle Rodeo open space in accordance with and Safety Town program, which is the Animas River Trail bike offered to teach youth bicycle and path project. traffic safety.

Durango is now in the process of hiring a full-time multimodal transportation coordinator in-part as a result of a recent Bicycle Friendly Community workshop.

This action, given the economic climate, says quite a lot about the importance of cycling and multimodal transportation to the community. biggest recent achievement: Durango has just

completed the seven mile Animas River Trail bike path. This 10 year project required some pretty creative engineering along with cooperation between business, government and community. They are now addressing annexation of an additional 10 miles to this trail system.

Best Result of Designation: “The Bicycle Friendly Community process helped Durango secure its first multi modal coordinator position and brought buy-in for alternative transportation as a viable and important concern for our community. We are so proud to be a BFC and look forward to making important changes that will help us move up the designation ladder!”

- Mary Monroe, Executive Director, Trails 2000 BFC Since: 2008 Population: 360,890 Square Miles: 186 Contact: Kristin Bennett • (719) 385-5622 • KBennett@springsgov.com

26 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

BFC Since: 2008 Population: 15,878 Square Miles: 7 Contact: Mary Monroe • (970) 259-4682 • Mary@trails2000.org

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

SILVER

EUGENE

OREGON

Community Highlights: Eugene has a 5.5 percent bicycle mode share — about five times the national average. Eugene’s policy framework incorporates bicycling and other alternative transportation modes into all aspects of the city’s transportation system, including requirements for new development to accommodate and enhance bicycling and a provision of an integrated system of bikeways throughout the community. Eugene has ample bike racks; and at night, most of the city’s bike paths are lit. Eugene’s Smart Ways to School program brings together groups of young cyclists with parent volunteers who accompany the children along designated, safe routes to school. City staff encourage bicycling at events all year long; including Bike Day at Youth Science Factory, major neighborhood events, walk to school day, and Sustainability Day at the County Fair. The Bicycle Coordinator and the Alternative Modes Coordinator make presentations to all new employees about the benefits of bicycling, walking and taking the bus.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: Elected officials, the community and the media frequently point to the League BFC award as an indicator of how bicycle-friendly Eugene is. The Community uses the Silver status as a rallying cry to improve to gold or platinum.

SILVER

FOLSOM

CALIFORNIA

Community Highlights: Folsom is spending $8 million toward bike facilities on the Folsom Dam Bridge/Road Project. This includes adding full width bike lanes on the bridge and providing bikeway along the length and the approaches to the bridge. Folsom’s annual Bike to Work Day continues to be the community’s biggest bicycle encouragement event and attendance has increased every year. This year the Folsom Area Bicycle Advocates and the City of Folsom are putting together the first annual Folsom Bike Film Festival to kick off the Amgen Tour of California. Folsom also holds quarterly bike rides with city staff and the Folsom Area Bicycle Advocates. The ride helps city staff understand firsthand the issues and concerns facing cyclists.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: The Sandra J. Gallardo Elementary in Folsom held their International Walk and Bike to School event one day early and their results were pretty fabulous — 92 percent of their students walked, biked or rode the bus to school.

BFC Since: 2004 Population: 142,681 Square Miles: 40.5 Contact: Lee Shoemaker • (541) 682-5471 • lee.shoemaker@ci.eugene.or.us

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

BFC Since: 2003 Population: 63,960 Square Miles: 21.6 Contact: Jim Konopka • (916) 351-3516 • jkonopka@folsom.ca.us

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

27

SILVER

GAINESVILLE

FLORIDA

SILVER

MINNEAPOLIS

MINNESOTA

NEW

COMMUNITY Community Highlights: An impressive percentage of Gainesville residents commute to work by bike – 5.25 percent.

With so many cyclists on Gainesville’s streets, bicyclist and motorist education are critical. The city’s police department works with the community and the Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Board to address traffic enforcement in targeted areas related to bicycle hazards and Share the Road issues. Gainesville has a Safe Routes to School program to improve safety and encourages children to bicycle and walk to school. The Florida Traffic and Bicycle Safety Education Program works in association with the local Community Traffic Safety Team on meeting with the county’s school principals to strengthen current efforts. The University of Florida Police Department has a bicycle safety school, with classes offered for those who receive tickets for bicycle violations on campus.

Community Highlights: Minneapolis has the second most number of bicycle commuters of the larger cities in the U.S., right behind the truly four-season-city Portland. Minneapolis has invested in a connected network of more than 120 miles of on and off-street facilities, launched education programs for cyclists, and encouraged more people to get on their bikes. The city’s bicycle ambassador program employs four full-time staff who are dedicated to build a culture of courtesy, acceptance and safety for all mode shares including motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians. The city also promotes bicycling by offering subsidized shower, locker and bicycle storage facilities at two downtown parking facilities. On Bike to Work Day 2008, Mayor Rybak pedaled his bicycle to win the Twin Cities’ first-ever Great Commuter Challenge – which included commuters by car, transit and foot.

Most Significant Recent Accomplishment: Aside from recently adding new paved trails to the area recently, Gainesville finally overcame a ten year negotiation gridlock and was able to successfully coordinate a land allocation from CSX railroad company.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: The estimated percentage of commuters who bicycle in Minneapolis increased from 2.5 percent to 3.8 percent between 2006 and 2007 – the second largest increase out of America’s largest 50 cities.

“The BFC program makes people aware that the bicycle contributes to a very high quality of life in their community. It is a very important factor in overall community health. Being a Top 10 University Community, Gainesville has an opportunity to show off the best of the best that a community can offer.”

- Laura Hallam, Executive Director, Florida Bicycle Assoc.

BFC Since: 2004 Population: 117,182 Square Miles: 49.1 Contact: Dekova Batey • (352) 334-5070 • bikeped@cityofgainesville.org

28 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

“Minneapolis is great place to ride a bike. The BFC program has provided us with a great tool for collaboration between our local bike industry, advocates and city staff. With the BFC program, we’ve been able to access ourselves alongside other great cities and set goals for a bike program that is truly world-class.”

- Nick Mason, Dero Bike Rack Co. & Minneapolis Bicycle Advisory Committee

BFC Since: 2008 Population: 373,188 Square Miles: 58 Contact: Shaun Murphy • 612-333-2450 • Shaun.Murphy@ci.minneapolis.mn.us

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

SILVER

MISSOULA

MONTANA

NEW

COMMUNITY

Community Highlights: Having a bike/pedestrian office within city government for more than 25 years, Missoula has long been a regional hotbed for cycling activity. The results can be seen with the 5.64 percent bicycle mode share, a dedicated snow plow for bike-lane and path clearing in the winter, state of the art bicycle detection at intersections and innovative accomodations such as sharrows. Bicycle Ambassadors offer safe cycling instruction at busy intersections. To educate Missoula’s youth, the school district has two trailers equipped for approximately thirty students with bikes and helmets and bicycling teaching aids travel between all nine schools. The bike program teaches K-5 bike safety and skills during the spring and fall in each school as part of the physical education curriculum. For residents who don’t have their own bike, bicycles are made available through a bike-loan program at the University, sponsored by Missoula Free Cycles and Dasani Blue Bikes program that is managed through the Parks & Rec Department.

SILVER

OLYMPIA

WASHINGTON

NEW

COMMUNITY

Community Highlights: Olympia expanded its bike network through the completion of phase one and two of the Olympia Woodland Trail, connecting to other trail networks and to bike lanes leading into downtown. This has helped grow participation in the Bicycle Commuter Contest from 17 participants in 1988 to almost 1,500 this year. With a grant from Washington DOT the city was able to hire a Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Specialist to work on education, encouragement and enforcement issues in the city. The grant and dedicated staff will promote bicycling to a large range of age groups, an ongoing awareness campaign highlighting messages to encourage bicycling and to promote safe behavior among all roadway users and League Smart Cycling classes. With the support of the Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee and a new Bicycle Master Plan in the works, Olympia continues to strive to be more bike-friendly

Most Significant Recent Accomplishment: The city opened a new bicycle & pedestrian bridge that is suspended below a major highway that links the city center, University and two major bike paths. Missoula also opened a new street with sidewalks and wide bike lanes through empty fields that links a major commercial area, a school and new housing developments.

Most Significant Recent Accomplishment: Since 1988, Olympia has held a Bicycle Commuter Contest. In 1988 the contest began with 17 participants. In 2007, 1,005 participants were recorded. This year participation rose by one-third with 1,450 commuters taking part in the contest.

BFC Since: 2003 Population: 57,053 Square Miles: 24 Contact: Phil Smith • 406-552-6352 • psmith@ci.missoula.mt.us

BFC Since: 2008 Population: 44,460 Square Miles: 18.5 Contact: Laura Ritter • 360-753-8469 • lritter@ci.olympia.wa.us

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

29

SILVER

PRESIDIO

OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

SILVER

SAN LUIS OBISPO

CALIFORNIA

2008 UPGRADE

Community Highlights: San Luis Obispo’s recent Bicycle

Community Highlights: The Presidio of San Francisco

has an 8 percent modeshare; and besides residents, it is a cycling destination for much of San Francisco and tourists. Presidio recently constructed the second phase of the Presidio Promenade multi-use trail. The Promenade will run from the Lombard Gate on the east side of the park to the Golden Gate Bridge when completed. By providing a bike fleet to the community YMCA, as well as building a Street Skills Bicycle Education Area to support local Bicycle Education programs, the town has cooperatively developed a community bicycle education program. The YMCA leads biweekly guided rides in local neighborhoods through after-school bike clubs at local middle schools using donated bikes and teaches nutritious eating habits, map-reading, and safe/complete street design concepts.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: Presidio completed 6.5 miles of on-road bikeways in 2008 — 25 percent of the total road network in one year. The designation has also helped set higher expectations for Presidio’s internal Human Relations Department to provide employee bicycle commuter incentives and hastened the early adoption of the Bicycle Commuter Act.

BFC Since: 2003 Population: 3,000 Square Miles: 1 Contact: Chris Weeks • (415) 561-5474 • cweeks@presidiotrust.gov

30 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

Transportation Plan proposed 31 new miles of bike paths, including six major bikeways. It also proposed bicycle facilities on the remaining 3.2 miles of arterials that are currently without facilities, thus achieving 100 percent bike-friendly arterial streets. All major intersections are equipped with loop or camera detection that is sensitive to bicycles, and the community has added bicycle boulevards and undertaken road diets to improve conditions.

The City contracts for bicycling education with the San Luis Obispo County Bicycle Coalition. In 2008, more than 500 students were reached. The city offers weekly bike valet service at the Thursday Night Farmer’s Market and in summer 2008 began offering the service to the weekly Summer Concerts in the Plaza. The City also has a Racks with Plaques program allowing the public to donate bicycle racks with commemorative plaques.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: In the City’s

biannual bicycle traffic counts taken in October 2008, bicycling volume was up 44 percent from the 2006 count.

BFC Since: 2007 Population: 44,174 Square Miles: 11 Contact: Peggy Mandeville • (805) 781-7590 • pmandevi@slocity.org

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

SILVER

SANTA BARBARA

CALIFORNIA

Community Highlights: The city conducted a $200 per

day giveaway to all downtown employees who bicycled to work or used another form of alternative transportation during a six-month period. Space permitting, Santa Barbara installs safe bicycle parking facilities in front of any local business that request it. Santa Barbara has significantly increased its commitment to using the bicycle as a routine component for work delivery by purchasing ten bicycles for city employees to use for work, recreation and personal purposes.

As part of this project, secure and covered bicycle parking for these fleet bicycles was installed in prominent places. In addition, the city offers monthly Street Skills for Cyclists classes on city time and provides free helmets for employees who take part in the class.

Santa Barbara has significantly increased the education component of its bicycle programs in cooperation with the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition, including offering scholarships for Spanish language speakers to become League Cycling Instructors. The city provides materials in both English and Spanish for bicyclists on traffic laws, safety at night and employer assistance opportunities. Santa Barbara was also a partner in a Safe Routes to School planning project to increase the safety of bicycling and walking to school for children.

BFC Since: 2003 Population: 87,370 Square Miles: 19 Contact: Sarah Grant • (805) 564-5544 • sgrant@santabarbaraca.gov

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

SILVER

SANTA CRUZ

CALIFORNIA

Community Highlights: Santa Cruz has a bicycling mode share ten times the national average. The enthusiasm to promote bicycling is clear in the high percentage of streets with bike facilities, efforts to close the gaps in the cycling network and the use of innovative design solutions such as a unique signage, contra-flow bike lane and smart-card bicycle lockers. The city has numerous encouragement and education programs: such as Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day, the Zero Interest Bike Loan program offered by Ecology Action, and the Bike Smart! and Ride N’ Stride school education programs. All of these things combined, along with Santa Cruz’s impressive environment for on-road and off-road riding, make the community a model to follow.

Best Result of Designation: Being a Bicycle Friendly

Community is one of the reasons why the 4th Amgen Tour of California Stage 2 finished in Santa Cruz on February 16, 2009.

BFC Since: 2007 Population: 54,593 Square Miles: 15.6 Contact: Cheryl Schmitt • (831) 420-5187 • cschmitt@ci.santa-cruz.ca.us

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

31

SILVER

SCOTTSDALE

ARIZONA

Community Highlights: Scottsdale is aggressively expand-

ing and improving its bicycle network with an investment of nearly $10 million per year in bicycle and pedestrian facilities. The city has three full-time planner positions dedicated to bicycle, pedestrian and trail issues. The current bicycle network includes 106 miles of bike lanes and paved shoulders, 114 miles of bike routes, 67 miles of paved shared use paths and 271 miles of unpaved trails.

Scottsdale’s most popular bikeway, the Indian Bend Wash Path, features 11 miles of paved paths with 21 grade separated crossings.

The Handlebar Helpers program allows Scottsdale residents to earn a bike through an apprentice process and provides free bikes to Scottsdale city employees who agree to ride them to work. One of the goals of Scottsdale’s Transportation Master Plan is to achieve a Gold BFC ranking.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: In the past year Scottsdale striped 12 centerline miles of new bike lanes, designated 64 miles of streets as bike routes and added six miles of paved paths and 33 miles of unpaved trails to our system.

BFC Since: 2005 Population: 221,792 Square Miles: 184.1 Contact: Reed Kempton • (480) 312-7630 • rkempton@scottsdaleaz.gov

32 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

SILVER

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

COLORADO

Community Highlights: Steamboat Springs, a well-known ski town, is now growing in fame as a bike town. The city’s dedication to becoming an even greater place for cyclists is demonstrated in the adoption of the Action Plan for Bicycle Friendly Communities that will ensure all city policies, plans, codes and programs are updated and implemented to take advantage of every opportunity to create a more bicycle-friendly community. Steamboat Springs boasts a four percent bicycling mode share; an ever growing network of on-road and offroad bicycling facilities, including 266 miles of natural surface trails; and encouragement efforts such as the Town Challenge Mountain Bike Race Series, Bike to Work Week promotions, and community support for Ride the Rockies and the Bicycle Tour of Colorado.

Best Result of Designation: The

Steamboat Springs designation has generated public awareness. The local political bodies responded to their constituents’ enthusiasm for the Bicycle Friendly initiative by ramping-up their support for bicycling. This increased support was both financial, in the form of budget allocations, and political, in the form of Community Development Code provisions for bicycle facilities.

BFC Since: 2007 Population: 9,815 Square Miles: 9.9 Contact: Janet Hruby • (970) 871-8245 • jhruby@steamboatsprings.net

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

SILVER

TEMPE

ARIZONA

SILVER

WOOD RIVER VALLEY

IDAHO

NEW

COMMUNITY

Community Highlights: Tempe has an historical 40-year

commitment to improving bicycling facilities. In 1971, Tempe was the first city in Arizona to build a bike lane. Tempe has the highest population density and percentage of bicycle riders in the state of Arizona. Tempe is committed to providing a complete, seamless bikeway system that integrates with the bus and light rail system to make traveling by bicycle convenient and safe. The city places a special emphasis on a traffic calming policy, a policy not to add any motor vehicle capacity but to move more people at the same time. Tempe uses “Bicycle as a key bike lanes combined with transit, does ingredient to the long promotional campaigns, uses commuter term sustainability alternative programs and creates bike of the city.” parking to meet this goal.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: In the past two years Tempe has seen the creation of two nonprofit organizations dedicated toward bicycling advocacy, funding and education.

The Tempe Bicycle Action Group and Bicycle Saviours work with city staff and city council, restore bicycles for re-distribution into the community and support an enhanced bicycle community.

Best Result of Designation: Bicycling in Tempe con-

tinues to generate media attention and continued funding in an effort to further enhance the city’s bicycle friendly status. The city is deeply committed to financing bicycle projects and supporting, politically and culturally, a community that is aware of the bicycle as a key ingredient to the long term sustainability of the city.

BFC Since: 2003 Population: 160,676 Square Miles: 40.1 Contact: Eric Iwersen • (480) 350-8810 • eric_iwersen@tempe.gov

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

Community Highlights: The Wood River Valley is highly

touted worldwide as one of the special places to pedal a mountain bike, with the area offering nearly 500 miles of single track trails and several thousand miles of trails on adjacent National Forest lands. This is no secret to local chambers of commerce, as bicycling is promoted as a major component of the valley’s tourist-based economy. Not all of the Valley’s cycling is done on the dirt however, as hybrids and road bikes still make up a large percentage of bikes rented. The valley has the most active Safe Routes to School program in Idaho. Grants have been awarded, $312,000 in SRTS, with $22,000 for non-infrastructure projects. Engineering and encouragement efforts are balanced with improved enforcement.

Officers receive specific bike-related training and use targeted enforcement training on motorists who do not yield to the right of way of cyclists and pedestrians.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: SRTS investments are paying off with 42 percent of students participating in Bike/Walk to School Day last year, more than 6,000 trips by biking or walking to school.

BFC Since: 2008 Population: 12,506 Square Miles: 17 Contact: Sean McLaughlin • (208) 721-8137 • sean.trails@gmail.com

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

33

SILVER BRONZE

ALBUQUERQUE

NEW MEXICO

BRONZE

ADA COUNTY

IDAHO

Community Highlights: Ada County development poli-

cies mandate bikeway accommodations in all new development and redevelopment projects. Bikeways get the full planning and engineering review along with motorized vehicles. In a six-year period, Ada County doubled bikeway miles on its roadway system.

ACHD specific communitywide iniatives include a $600,000 effort to create new livable street standards to accommodate all modes of transportation.

In addition, the county promotes Bike to Work day through their May in Motion initative and recently funded a new velodrome and mountain bike park.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: The region’s annual May in Motion month long Commuter Champion Employer Challenge saw an increase in bicycle round trips from employee participants go from 4,630 in 2006 to 8,601 in 2007!

BFC Since: 2004 Population: 395,974 Square Miles: 1,060 Contact: Kristin Lundstrom • 208-387-6157 • klundstrom@achd.ada.id.us

BRONZE

ANN ARBOR

MICHIGAN

Community Highlights: Michigan’s economy is heavily

Community Highlights: Cyclists know Albuquerque for

its well connected bikeway system and sunny skies. In addition, Albuquerque offers a number of programs that reach out to the bicycling community; including a bicycle locker program that provides secure bicycle parking to area employers, a regularly updated bike map and commuter guide, and partnerships with local bicycle advocacy groups. Their bicycle safety and education program reaches 10,000 children per year in more than 70 elementary schools.

dependent on the automobile. However, Ann Arbor has committed to providing balanced transportation choices in their city by increasing bicycle and pedestrian options. The City Council has earmarked five percent of its state gasoline and weight tax revenues for non-motorized transportation improvements, particularly onroad bicycle lanes.

Best Result of Designation: Ann

Most Compelling Community Statistic: Albuquerque has 400 miles of well connected bikeways developed and has set a goal to provide bicycle accessibility from residential areas to employment and activity centers. A system of Bicycle Boulevards is currently being added to the network. In 2008, the city invested $5.5 million and added 14 miles of bikeways by developing street projects, street rehab projects, road diets, multi-use trails and grade separated crossings.

Arbor proudly displays its BFC plaque on the front of its city hall. The recognition brings attention to bicycling as a means of city transportation. The BFC designation allows for advocates, elected leaders and citizens to engage in the civic pride of being recognized as a leader and drives them to do an even better job.

BFC Since: 2005 Population: 448,607 Square Miles: 187 Contact: Jim Arrowsmith • (505) 768-2526 • jarrowsmith@cabq.gov

BFC Since: 2005 Population: 114,028 Square Miles: 28 Contact: Eli Cooper • (734) 794-6430 ext 43710 • ecooper@a2gov.org

34 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

BRONZE

ARCATA

CALIFORNIA

BRONZE

ARVADA

COLORADO

NEW

COMMUNITY

NEW

COMMUNITY Community Highlights: Bicycle commuting in Arcata is more than ten times the national average. The city is home to the Arcata Bike Library, a unique program that makes refurbished bikes available to anyone for a $20 deposit. Currently the city has bike lanes or paved shoulders on 95 percent of its arterial streets,12 miles of bike lanes, bicycle activated signals at every intersection and bicycling events. More sharrows and bicycle boulevards will be implemented soon.

Best Result of Designation: Arcata learned a great deal

from the BFC aplication process. The process helped prepare a five year update to their Bicycle/Pedestrian Master Plan. The feedback the League provided to Arcata’s Transportation Safety Committee and City Council revealed the need for education. Arcata now airs public safety PSAs on the local public access channel.

Community Highlights: Arvada has an impressive bicycle

network consisting of 74 miles of bike lanes, 75 miles of shared use paths and an extensive designated bike route system. There is also a BMX park and ten miles of natural surface trails open to mountain bikers for recreational cycling. The city reports that the BFC designation has helped staff look at the bigger picture when designing facilities with cyclists in mind.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: Ridership has increased by 20 percent since Arvada has closed missing gaps on road/trail networks and provided updated maps in print and on the internet.

BFC Since: 2008 Population: 107,050 Square Miles: 32.5 Contact: Anne Tully • (720) 898-7746 • atully@arvada.org

BRONZE

ASHLAND

OREGON

Community Highlights: In a small community with few resources, Ashland boasts a 3.7 percent bicycle mode share.

Through ongoing partnerships with the Bicycle Transportation Alliance and the Parks Department, Ashland offers bicycle safety education programs in local schools.

Best Result of Designation: Participants in the Bicycle

Commute Challenge at the annual Car Free promotion made an approximate 3,800 mile reduction in vehicle miles traveled during the two-week program.

The Kidical Mass ride is for kids who have completed bicycle safety education classes to ride in traffic with their family, instructors and friends.

BFC Since: 2008 Population: 16,651 Square Miles: 11 Contact: Harmony Groves • (707) 889-3024 • harmonygroves@gmail.com

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

BFC Since: 2004 Population: 19,522 Square Miles: 6.5 Contact: Derek Severson • (541) 552-2040 • seversod@ashland.or.us

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

35

SILVER BRONZE

AUBURN

ALABAMA

Community Highlights: Auburn’s 2020 plan will expand

its bicycle network into a comprehensive system and make the city a place where riding a bicycle is safe, convenient, enjoyable and an accepted mode of travel. Every fourth grader in the city participates in the school system’s bicycle safety program.

Best Result of Designation: Last year, 95 percent of

Auburn residents indicated they were satisfied with Auburn as a place to live. Auburn’s designation as a BFC is an important part of the quality of life citizens have come to expect in their town.

BFC Since: 2005 Population: 42,987 Square Miles: 39.1 Contact: Brandy Ezelle • (334) 501-3000 • bezelle@auburnalabama.org

BRONZE

BEAVERTON

OREGON

BRONZE

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND

WASHINGTON

NEW

COMMUNITY Community Highlights: Many people have chosen to

live in Bainbridge Island because they value the natural state of the Island. The commitment to keep the island untouched extends into transportation choices and an $800,000 investment in non-motorized capitol projects. Projects included 30 miles of dedicated bike lanes, 32 miles of paved multi-use paths and a plan to widen shoulders on 40 miles of the most heavily trafficked roads.

The Bainbridge Island ferry terminal, an essential transit hub for those commuting to and from Seattle, offers covered bike parking and lockers at its bike barn. The 2007 Bike to Work & School Day event, in conjunction with Cascade Bicycle Club, drew seven percent of the Island’s population out to participate; and during summer months, hundreds of cyclists travel by ferry. Partnering with Squeaky Wheels and Cascade Bicycle Club, Bainbridge Island hosts several popular rides including Chilly Hilly and Bike for Pie.

Best Result of Designation: In the last year, Bainbridge Island included $800,000 for non-motorized capitol projects which include on and off-road facilities.

Community Highlights: Every school in Beaverton has

a Safe Routes to School plan. The schools distribute a route map with school orientation materials each year. Beaverton annually spends more than $500,000 on bike-related projects.

Best Result of Designation: The designation has re-

sulted in increased visibility for bicycling. In 2008, Beaverton saw an increase in press coverage of bicycling issues, increased participation in bicycle related events like the first ever Bike Beaverton, increased applications for membership and public participation in Bicycle Advisory Committee meetings. and increased public input about Beaverton’s cycling needs.

BFC Since: 2003 Population: 79,350 Square Miles: 16.3 Contact: Margaret Middleton • 503-526-2424 • mmiddleton@ci.beaverton.or.us

36 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

BFC Since: 2008 Population: 20,300 Square Miles: 27 Contact: Kate Brown • (206) 842-2545 • kbrown@ci-baiinbridge-isl.wa.us

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

BRONZE

BEND

OREGON

BRONZE

BILLINGS

MONTANA

Community Highlights: Bend has 26

roundabouts, seven pathway river bridges, a bike tunnel and 90 percent of its arterial streets have bike lanes. Students are encouraged to ride their bikes to school on Bike to School Tuesdays from May to June.

Bend initiated a seven route, fixed-route transit system in fall of 2006. All of Bend’s buses are equipped with bike racks, and bike use on transit has increased dramatically since 2007.

Best Result of Designation: Bend has

continued its bicycle programs, like Safe Routes to School and bicycle safety education, during the slow economy. To encourage community bicycling they hold community promotions and gain citizen support for improved facilities.

BFC Since: 2005 Population: 75,290 Square Miles: 32 Contact: Rick Root • (541) 388-5576 • rroot@ci.bend.or.us

BRONZE

BLOOMINGTON

INDIANA

NEW

COMMUNITY Community Highlights: Billings completed the Big Ditch Trail, a crucial east-west connector, to link the trail system to the residential subdivisions. In addition to local ordinances stipulating that any upgrade to existing arterials within city limits must include some form of bike accomodation, Billings recommended that all new major subdivisions within city limits address bike lanes, multi-use paths or trails in their building plans. All buses have been equipped with bike racks, and usage has doubled in recent years.

The Billings Public School District oversees a Wheel Safety Program at all public elementary schools. The programs uses a bike and helmet equipped trailer to educate children on how to safely ride bicycles, obey traffic rules and perform minor bike maintenance.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: On the 20 miles of hard surface multi-use trails and on an array of soft surface type trails, counts have shown a 32 percent increase in use between 2003 to 2007.

Community Highlights: Bloomington also requires that

new developments connect to the bicycle network. Every year since 2001, Bloomington has earmarked $500,000 from the annual budget to implement infrastructure projects. In addition to creating and maintaining bike lanes, sidepaths, multi-use trails and connector paths; the City has established an extensive signed bicycle route network to helps cyclists find quality routes and increases motorists awareness.

Best Result of Designation: The City Council and

Administration have repeatedly referenced the BFC designation as a benchmarking tool. The City hopes to advance to the Silver designation and uses the program as a guiding framework

Mayor Tussing rides with children on Bike to School week

BFC Since: 2003 Population: 69,107 Square Miles: 20 Contact: Joe Fish • (812) 349-3473 • fishj@bloomington.in.gov

BFC Since: 2008 Population: 100,147 Square Miles: 41.6 Contact: Darlene Tussing • (406) 247-8637 • tussingd@ci.billings.mt.us

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

37

SILVER BRONZE

BRENTWOOD

CALIFORNIA

BRONZE

BURLINGTON

VERMONT

Community Highlights: Brentwood has been putting bicycling first in its engineering. The city cleans its shoulders and bike lanes once every seven days. There are also three completed staging areas with parking, trail access, water and restroom facilities for cyclists. Safety education is an important focus too. In 2008, in conjunction with the California Office of Traffic Safety, the City of Brentwood was able to distribute more than 1,800 bicycle helmets to school age children and conduct three bicycle rodeos.

Best Result of Designation: Brentwood has been able

to establish and contine efforts with a local Bicycle Coordinating Committee due to the BFC designation.

BFC Since: 2006 Population: 40,007 Square Miles: 11.69 Contact: Steve Kersevan • (925) 516-5316 • skersevan@ci.brentwood.ca.us

BRONZE

BRUNSWICK

MAINE

Community Highlights: The community has a good onstreet/off-street network balance, and 30 out of 37 police officers are licensed as bicycle police. Additionally, the Androscoggin River Bike Path is delightful. Every school participates in the bicycle safety education program led by the Bicycle Coalition of Maine.

Best Result of Designation:

The BFC designation has led to a greater willingness by many to incorporate bike plans into projects, both private and public.

BFC Since: 2003 Population: 21,820 Square Miles: 47 Contact: James Fortune • (207) 725-6660 • jfortune@brunswickme.org

38 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

Community Highlights: Burlington’s commitment to bicycling has contributed to a 2 percent bicycle mode share; along with its Way to Go! Campaign, encouraging transportation alternatives, and the BikeSmart safety program in elementary schools. In 2007 two important city plans were adopted to ensure a better bicycling environment. First, the first Bicycle Parking Ordinance required short and long-term bike parking and commuter facilities, such as lockers and showers, be installed with applicable development projects. Second, the comprehensive multi-modal Transportation Plan was adopted by the Public Works Commission.

Best Result of Designation: The BFC

designation highlighted improvements that are still needed and that are recommended by the BFC committee in order for Burlington to progress to a Silver Award.

The community and decisionmakers can see that specific, targeted investments will result in significant, recognizable improvements to their transportation system.

BFC Since: 2004 Population: 38,889 Square Miles: 10.6 Contact: Nicole Losch • (802) 865-5833 • nlosch@ci.Burlington.vt.us

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

BRONZE

CARMEL

INDIANA

BRONZE

CARRBORO

NORTH CAROLINA

Community Highlights: Carrboro considers bicycles in all parts of its planning. The result is a comprehensive bikeway system that is among the best in the state with some 22 miles of bicycle facilities in 6.3 square miles. The city’s new comprehensive bicycle transportation plan is based on the Five E’s put forth in the BFC application.

Best Result of Designation: Carrboro’s designation as a BFC was the impetus for how the comprehensive bicycle transportation plan was structured and serves as the benchmark for how Carrboro will approach future bicycle improvements.

BFC Since: 2004 Population: 17,797 Square Miles: 6.3 Contact: Adena Messinger • 919-918-7329 • amessinger@townofcarrboro.org

BRONZE

CARY

NORTH CAROLINA

Community Highlights: Cary requires bicycle accomoda-

Community Highlights: Carmel has demonstrated a

commitment to bicycling with resource allocation and full support from local leaders and citizens. The Monon Greenway is a powerful tool, and the community has built on its momentum to expand the community’s bicycling infrastructure. They have ncluded the Cool Creek North Trail, Carmel Drive Bridge and bike lanes as part of the latest road project bond issue. The investment is paying off – Bike to Work Day attendence has grown by 500 percent in four years.

tions on all new and/or improved collector roads and thoroughfares. Cary also recently adopted a bicycle parking ordinance requiring all new developments to install bicycle parking facilites based on a ratio of automobile parking. Cary’s first bicycle education video highlights all of the town’s bicycle facilities and ways to navigate them safely.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: A survey

Best Result of Designation: Bicycle safety and accessibility have become a priority to the city’s staff, decision makers and general public. With bicycle friendliness in mind, the Carmel City Council approved a 100 mile bike route plan to provide better bicycle accessibility and opportunities throughout the city.

for the newly completed Bicycle Plan found that more than 75 percent of cyclists in Cary ride for recreation and exercise.

Respondents indicated significant future increases in work trip ridership as a result of bicycle facility improvements.

BFC Since: 2006 Population: 70,000 Square Miles: 17.89 Contact: David Littlejohn • (317) 571-2417 • dlittlejohn@carmel.in.gov

BFC Since: 2003 Population: 119,745 Square Miles: 42 Contact: Juliet Andes • (919) 462-2008 • juliet.andes@townofcary.org

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

39

SILVER BRONZE

CHANDLER

ARIZONA

BRONZE

Community Highlights: Chandler has developed an extensive bike lane network that encompasses 50 percent of the arterial streets in the city - more than 100 miles. Chandler has started construction on the final phase of the Paseo Trail, which will provide 6.5 miles of paved trail with lighting, benches, water and desert landscaping.

CHARLOTTE

NORTH CAROLINA

NEW

COMMUNITY

Best Result of Designation: Espee Park in Chandler opened the first bike only (BMX, Freestyle, Grind) public facility in the Valley. This facility gives the youths of Chandler and other Arizona communities an alternative riding place and includes features for users of varying ability levels.

BFC Since: 2006 Population: 176,581 Square Miles: 58 Contact: Ann Marie Riley • 480-782-3442 • annmarie.riley@chandleraz.gov

BRONZE

CHARLOTTESVILLE

VIRGINIA

NEW

COMMUNITY Community Highlights: Charlottesville hosts a city Bike Summit every two years to create a top five priority project agenda for the area’s bicycle facility network and then works with local government staff to implement those projects. Arts for Bike Paths is a program by which Charlottesville raises money for bike facilities through auctions and artists’ donations from their sales. With the growth of this program, the aesthetic and structural quality of bicycling in Charlottesville continues to improve.

Best Result of Designation: Charlottesville recently created and hired a full-time bicycle/pedestrian planning position within the City Parks and Recreation division who will coordinate all bicycling efforts and issues.

BFC Since: 2008 Population: 40,315 Square Miles: 10 Contact: Chris Gensic • (434) 970-3656 • gensic@charlottesville.org

40 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

Community Highlights: Charlotte has included bicycle access with their transit expansion. In addition to bike racks on all busses, Charlotte’s new Lynx Blue line light rail system includes bike racks and unrestricted bike access to the train. Each Lynx station is equipped with bicycle parking facilities. Bicycle access to the stations was improved through on-street facilities, such as bicycle lanes and intersection improvements. Additionally, an exclusive bicycle/pedestrian trail has been built. Charlotte has experienced a 231 percent increase in bicycle trips using public transit up from 19,000 to 63,000 in just six years. The city boasts 51 miles of bikes lanes, nearly 17,000 acres of open space available to cyclists and 35 natural surface trails.

Best Result of Designation: The City of Charlotte

made a number of bicycle investments in the past year. The city is developing a new Bicycle Master Plan, and more than 100 people attended the first public workshop to create a vision for a bikefriendly Charlotte. Charlotte mayor Pat McCrory stresses the importance of providing transportation choice in a growing city.

BFC Since: 2008 Population: 648,387 Square Miles: 287 Contact: Kenneth Tippette • (704) 336-2278 • ktippette@ci.charlotte.nc.us

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

BRONZE

CHATTANOOGA

TENNESSEE

BRONZE

CLAREMONT

CALIFORNIA

Community Highlights: Claremont has taken sustainable

transportation seriously in its redevelopment and growth plans.

The city has leveraged Safe Routes to School funding for road diets, bike lanes and intersection improvement. The Claremont Wilderness Park has ten miles of mountain bike trails and five miles of shared use pathways

Community Highlights: Chattanooga boasts a mix of on-

street and off-street bicycling opportunities for cyclists. Last year, the city launched a corporate bicycle program though Outdoor Chattanooga’s Mobile Bicycle Fleet with support from the Tennessee Department of Transportation. This program is working to increase bicycle commuters and reduce mid-day vehicle trips by providing employees of partner businesses the opportunity to ride during lunch and after work.

Best Result of Designation: Claremont secured $495,000 through the Bicycle Transportation Account (BTA) program for the implementation of a bicycle traffic center at the Historic Claremont Depot and for the construction and installation of bicycle improvements within the City’s 1.5 square miles designated Bike Priority Zone. The bike center will make commuting safer and feasible by providing commuters with secure bicycle parking, bicycle repairs and services, and transit information. This facility will be the first of its kind within Los Angeles County.

Best Result of Designation: A primary outcome over

the past year has been the incorporation of complete street policies in the city’s regional long range planning process.

BFC Since: 2003 Population: 155,554 Square Miles: 135 Contact: Philip Pugliese • 423-643-6887 • ppugliese@outdoorchattanooga.com

BRONZE

CHICO

CALIFORNIA

NEW

COMMUNITY

Community Highlights: Chico boasts a 5.2 percent bicycle mode share and strives to provide the necessary facilities to make bicycling one of the most used modes of transportation among residents. The community requires that new development accommodate bicyclists and uses funds from development impact fees to build new bicycle facilities.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: During the City of Chico’s Bike to Work Week Business Challenge, 35 local business competed with 1,488 riders. The riders commuted 8,692 miles combined, which is roughly equivalent to driving from San Francisco to New York three times.

BFC Since: 2004 Population: 79,000 Square Miles: 21 Contact: Ronald Baker • (530) 879-6942 • rbaker@ci.chico.ca.us

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

BFC Since: 2008 Population: 36,612 Square Miles: 14.14 Contact: Craig Bradshaw • (909) 399-5474 • cbradshaw@ci.claremont.ca.us

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

41

SILVER BRONZE

COEUR D’ALENE

IDAHO

NEW

COMMUNITY Community Highlights: According to a 2006 parks sur-

vey, bicycling consistently ranked as one of the preferred activities among Coeur d’Alene adults and youth. Coeur d’Alene has nearly 850,000 acres of open space available to cyclists, and 39 percent of arterials have bike lanes or paved shoulders. The city’s latest investment, a five-mile cooridor for a multi-use path, complements the growing bike culture as seen in cycling events throughout the year and in the bicycling advocacy community.

BRONZE

DENVER

COLORADO

Community Highlights: During the past 12 years, Denver has reconstructed a number of trails to provide enhanced access, reduced conflict, improved geometry and lighting. Denver puts EMTs and police on bicycles, and the police department has a bicycle recovery unit that offers free registration. During the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Denver welcomed Freewheelin, a temporary bike-sharing initiative produced by Humana and Bikes Belong Coalition.The program offered 1,000 free loaner bikes at seven stations to delegates, elected officials, the media and the public. During the convention, pedalers logged 5,552 rides and 24,493 miles. The program’s success prompted the city to purchase a permanent system called B-cycle which Humana is developing in partnership with Trek Bicycle Corporation. Using net revenue from the convention, the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee presented the city with a $1 million check to put toward the system. Phase one will include 500 bikes at kiosks throughout the city. It is expected to be installed by summer 2009.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: According to a recent survey, 47.3 percent of respondents say they would use non-motorized modes of transportation if they had more connections, felt safer and had facilities closer to their home.

BFC Since: 2008 Population: 41,983 Square Miles: 14 Contact: Monte McCully • (208) 292-5766 • mmccully@cdaid.org

BRONZE

COLUMBIA

SOUTH CAROLINA

Community Highlights: The Bicycle Friendly Columbia Task Force has made significant progress over the past few years with working groups taking on each of the 5 E’s. Virtually all City of Columbia departments have received on-going training in how to accommodate and encourage bicycling. There are 23 miles of bike lanes and 14 miles of share use paths. For recreation cycling, the city offers a BMX track and more than 21 miles of single track mountain biking.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper (second from R) along with (L to R) Humana’s Nate Kvamme, Bikes Belong’s executive director Tim Blumenthal, and Bikes Belong’s Elizabeth Train launched Freewheelin in Denver on August 24 and led 150 cyclists on a celebratory ride through the city. Photo by Barry Staver.

NEW

COMMUNITY

Showing support for Columbia’s Bicycle Friendly designation, First Citizen’s Bank installed bike racks at their Main Street corporate office and several downtown branches in July 2008. The bank also announced that drive-thru services are available to bicyclists.

BFC Since: 2008 Population: 116,278 Square Miles: 127.7 Contact: Gerry Lynn Hall • (803) 988.8040 • scdcorp@columbiasc.net

42 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

BFC Since: 2003 Population: 556,835 Square Miles: 153.4 Contact: Karen Good • (720) 865.3162 • karen.good@denvergov.org

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

BRONZE

FLAGSTAFF

ARIZONA

BRONZE

LA CROSSE

WISCONSIN

Community Highlights: The Flagstaff Urban Trails

System (FUTS) is a comprehensive network of trails that provides transportation and recreational opportunities throughout the city.

There are more than 40 miles of FUTS trails in existence, and longrange plans depict a system that will eventually include more than 100 miles of trail. Flagstaff voters recently approved a dedicated sales tax that provides $800,000 per year for 20 years for bicycle, pedestrian and safe routes to school improvements. Additionally, the Flagstaff Biking Organization (FBO) is a local nonprofit group with more than 1,300 supporters that advocates bicycling as a means of transportation and recreation in the Flagstaff area.

BFC Since: 2006 Population: 57,391 Square Miles: 63.6 Contact: Martin Ince • (928) 226-4850 • mince@ci.flagstaff.az.us

BRONZE

GILBERT

ARIZONA

Community Highlights: La Crosse broke ground on a downtown mixed-use transit center in June 2008 that will includes bicycle parking. La Crosse was one of the first in its region to install bicycle detection loops at actuated intersections on bike routes and now requires the installation of video detection systems at all new fully actuated traffic signals. There is a citywide Safe Routes to School program and plan for all grade, middle and high schools.

All physical education instructors at the middle and high schools have been trained by the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin. La Crosse was the first in the state to have a bikes on buses program.

Community Highlights: Gilbert has implemented a bicycle plan into all of its design standards. Currently it has facilities on 100 percent of its arterial streets. The town also has innovative education efforts. Gilbert partnered with a local Ben & Jerry’s store to offer certificates for free ice cream to children who wear their helmets while bicycling. When fire fighters spot helmet-wearing children, they distribute the certificates and talk about the importance of bicycle safety.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: La Crosse has always ranked second behind Madison, WI in commuting to work by bike or walking. The city received a SRTS grant that created a regional SRTS coordinator to increase the number of children walking and biking to school.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: The town handed out more than 500 safety blinkers and steel cable bike locks to local school children who participated in Bike-to-School week and the Bike Rodeo.

BFC Since: 2003 Population: 196,000 Square Miles: 76 Contact: Kurt Sharp • (480) 503-6771 • kurts@ci.gilbert.az.us

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

BFC Since: 2007 Population: 51,818 Square Miles: 22 Contact: Larry Kirch • (608) 789-7512 • kirchl@cityoflacrosse.org

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

43

SILVER BRONZE

LAWRENCE

KANSAS

BRONZE

LEXINGTON-FAYETTE CO.

KENTUCKY

Community Highlights: Lexington is a mid-sized college town that has more than 60 miles of bike facilities within its urban core. Thousands of cyclists flock to Lexington to ride the scenic country-side, known for its rolling hills and horse farms. The city government’s many bike initiatives are supported by community partners and a growing bike culture to sustain Lexington’s many bike initiatives and events; including two bike sharing programs, safe routes to school, car-free bike rides, bike racing and bike polo.

Best Result of Designation: Lexington hosted their

Community Highlights: According to the 2000 census,

1.3 percent of Lawrence’s population regularly bike to work — almost three times the national average. Lawrence has dedicated September to bicycle education for children; May is Bicycle Awareness Month and is focused on educating all road users about bicycle regulations and safety. The city educates drivers and cyclists on the etiquette of sharing the road through real life demonstrations, teaching hand signals and distributing brochures. Lawrence recently undertook a complete review of their bicycle network in prepartion for a new bike plan, the Long-Range Transportation Plan identifying new goals and objectives for bicycle and pedestrian facilities.

first Second Sunday event and encouraged 72 communities across Kentucky to close one mile of roadway on a Sunday afternoon exclusively for non-motorized use. More than 2,000 people participated in Lexington with thousands more participating statewide.

BFC Since: 2004 Population: 88,664 Square Miles: 28.1 Contact: Bart Rudolph • (785) 832-3165 • brudolph@ci.lawrence.ks.us

BRONZE

LIBERTY LAKE

WASHINGTON

Community Highlights: This small town is big on bicy-

cling. Liberty Lake takes great pride in its multi-use trail system, which circulates 25.15 miles through the community. More than 90 percent of arterial streets in the community have bike lanes. The city has added bike parking and worked to connect the regional trail network.

Best Result of Designation: The City of Liberty Lake

continues to be publicly recognized in newspapers and magazines as a Bicycle Friendly Community. They have been contacted by other cities across the nation to assist them in becoming a bicycle friendly community.

BFC Since: 2007 Population: 6,344 Square Miles: 6 Contact: Jessica Platt • (509) 755-6702 • jplatt@libertylakewa.gov

44 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

BFC Since: 2007 Population: 246,800 Square Miles: 85 Contact: Kenzie Gleason • (859) 258-3605 • kgleason@lfucg.com

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

BRONZE

LONGMONT

COLORADO

BRONZE

LOUISVILLE

KENTUCKY

Community Highlights: Longmont boasts 95 miles of

bike lanes and 52 miles of shared-use paths; 39 percent of its arterial streets have bike lanes. Longmont has incorporated bike lanes within their design standards and construction specifications, and requires that five percent of the total space available for parking at downtown buildings be bicycle parking. The city implemented a SRTS program in five schools. The children have embraced the idea of using human power to get to school, and the results have been remarkable – not only in the level of participation, but the children enjoy the program and traffic was reduced within the entire community.

BFC Since: 2004 Population: 84,636 Square Miles: 21.8 Contact: Len Marques • (303) 651-8757 • len.marques@ci.longmont.co.us

BRONZE

MESA

ARIZONA

Community Highlights: Mesa has been participating in an exhaustive study with the Regional Council to identify all gaps in their bicycle friendliness and to adopt a plan for the completion and connection of all gaps. The study will also provide a plan for the connection of bicycle networks between all of the communities in the region. Mesa has defined and outfitted with signage three bicycle networks: the arterial street network, the mid-section collector street network, and the irrigation canal and power easement trail network. A bicycle bridge was constructed to allow passage between the Mesa and Chandler. Last year, 19 additional miles of on-street bicycle lanes were added – bringing the total to 128 miles. Mesa has also continued its efforts to educated the public about bicycle safety and awareness through school and community programs.

BFC Since: 2003 Population: 437,454 Square Miles: 125 Contact: James Nash • (480) 644-3556 • James.Hash@cityofmesa.org

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

Community Highlights: Mayor Abramson has embraced the initiative to make Louisville bicycle friendly. He was instrumental in hosting the first regional Bicycle Summit in Louisville in 2005 and later in creating a Bicycle Task Force. As a result of the Bike Summit and the mayor’s drive, the city has committed to $85 million in projects over the next ten years. The city has also moved forward in connecting neighborhoods through bicycling, increasing educational outreach, and hosting events such as the Mayor’s Hike and Bike. Louisville is also home of Humana Corp., which launched Freewheelin and BCycle bike sharing programs.

Best Result of Designation: Louisville has spent

substantial time and resources in planning and developing various portions of the 100 mile Louisville Loop trail which will provide bicycle and pedestrian facilities around the entire county.

MOST COMPELLING COMMINUTY STATISTIC: Louisville has built more bicycle facilities in the past year and a half than in several decades prior.

BFC Since: 2006 Population: 700,030 Square Miles: 399 Contact: Dirk Gowin • (502) 574-5925 • Dirk.Gowin@louisvilleky.gov

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

45

SILVER BRONZE

MILWAUKEE

WISCONSIN

BRONZE

NEW YORK

NEW YORK

Community Highlights: Milwaukee is updating its bicycle master plan and reprinting their bike map. The city has a Safe Routes to School program, IMBA trail trainings, a well-attended Bike to Work Week, bike-in movies, Midnight Bike Rides, Biketoberfest, regular city staff led tours of bike facilities, bike-in movies and regular Smart Cycling classes.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: Cycling to work increased 29 percent in Milwaukee last year compared to a six percent increase nationally. Milwaukee’s comprehensive bicycling encouragement, education and engineering programs are apparently working.

Bike Culture: Santa Cycle Rampage, in which more than 100 people dress as Santas and Elves and ride around town spreading holiday cheer.

BFC Since: 2006 Population: 578,887 Square Miles: 96.9 Contact: David Schlabowske • 414-286-3144 • David.Schlabowske@milwaukee.gov

BRONZE

MOUNTAIN VIEW

CALIFORNIA

Community Highlights: New York is the most populous

Bicycle Friendly Community and it stands as an example of what can be done with good planning, strong advocates and forward thinking political leadership. The city’s dedication is evident in the city’s efforts to study and reduce crashes and fatalities, improvements to network connectivity, additions of bicycle parking, and three-year plan to add 200 miles of on-street bicycle facilities. Additionally, the New York has increased efforts to improve motorists and cyclist education.

To complement the expanding network of on-street bicycle lanes and routes, the NYC Department of City Planning introduced a zoning amendment to require all newly constructed residential and commercial buildings to provide secure indoor bicycle parking.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: Bicycle commuting increased an unprecedented 35 percent from 2007 to 2008 in New York City. Cycling levels in the city have doubled during the last six years.

Community Highlights: In Mountain View, 100 percent

of arterial streets are outfitted with bike lanes or paved shoulders.

The City’s most significant bicycle related investment is the Stevens Creek Trail, a major commuting and recreation corridor. The next phase of the trail will reunite the east and west sides of the city that were divided in the 1960s as a result of construction of Highway 85. In 2007, the first phase of the city’s bicycle boulevard network was completed.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: Over the last 25 years, Mountain View has developed more than 40 miles of bikeways at a cost of $30 million.

“A central part of our PlaNYC is to reduce carbon emissions by getting people out of cars. We’re trying to make it easier for people to use their bikes as a viable means of transportation and we appreciate this recognition,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Whether increasing and improving bicycle lanes or building bike shelters near transit hubs, by making New York more bike friendly, we’re taking steps to prepare for the future.”

BFC Since: 2004 Population: 69,011 Square Miles: 12.1 Contact: Genevieve Fire • (650) 903-6311 • jenny.fire@mountainview.gov

BFC Since: 2007 Population: 8,143,197 Square Miles: 469 Contact: Joshua Benson • (212) 442-9890 • jbenson@dot.nyc.gov

46 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

BRONZE

OCEANSIDE

CALIFORNIA

BRONZE

OXFORD

MISSISSIPPI

NEW

COMMUNITY Community Highlights: In Oceanside bikes are allowed inside Sprinter, AMTRAK, Metrolink and Coaster trains; additionally, all buses are equipped with bike racks. Ability to combine travel modes and Orlando’s three pit stops program has helped attract more than 1,000 participants annually to Bike to Work Day. Oceanside promotes bicycling with the Oceanside Family Bike Day along the Sun Luis Rey River Trail, a new Historic Bicycle Tour downtown, and by encouraging local cyclists to ride along with Race Across America competitors at the start of each year’s race.

Oceanside also offers Dasani Blue Bike program, making bikes available for free, public use. The city has also redesigned intersections with improved signange, bicycle detection sensors and pavement markings. Two of the city’s traffic engineers completed Traffic Skills 101 training.

NEW

COMMUNITY

Best Result of Designation: Last year the city mailed

more than 40,000 bike safety tip cards with utility billings.

BFC Since: 2008 Population: 174,925 Square Miles: 42 Contact: Steve Tisdale • (760) 435-5088 • stisdale@ci.oceanside.ca.us

BRONZE

ORLANDO

FLORIDA

Community Highlights: The city has surpassed its year

2010, 200 mile benchmark for bikeways in Orlando ahead of schedule and now has more than 250 miles of bike lanes, trails and signed routes. Orlando’s ongoing 1,000-plus acre Baldwin Park project, one of the largest in-city redevelopment projects in the country, is particularly bicycle friendly. The City is also in the process of implementing stricter bicycle parking standards within the City’s Land Development Code.

Most Compelling Community Statistic:

The attendance for Bike-toWork day has steadily been increasing an average of 10 percent every year, as has Orlando’s Pedal for Pride event that is geared towards children and teenagers.

BFC Since: 2004 Population: 205,648 Square Miles: 93.5 Contact: Cristina Cruz • (407) 246-3347 • cristina.cruz@cityoforlando.net

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

Community Highlights: Oxford strived to be the first community recognized in Mississippi for bicycle friendliness; Mayor Howorth was able to make that happen in 2008. Known for it’s local university, famous residents and historic town square, Oxford is redefining itself as a cycling town. Wanting to create bicycle accommodations right the first time, the Pathway Commission brought in outside experts to discuss Complete Streets and Road Diets with city staff. Recent accomplishments include a recent Rail-to-Trail conversion, the city’s first five miles of planned bike lanes and new bike route signage. The members of the Oxford Cycling Club (OCC) and the Pathways commission write a regular monthly column in the local newspaper. Half the schools currently receive a Safe Routes to School funded bicycle education program, and the OCC has played host to Smart Cycling courses. During the cycling season, OCC hosts rides for cyclists of all abilities and organizes road and mtb races.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: The city spent $3.5 million in capital improvements to put 10 miles of bike network on the ground and gave away more than 120 bike lights during a daylight savings bike safety event.

BFC Since: 2008 Population: 16,727 Square Miles: 15.74 Contact: Tim Akers • (662) 232-2305 • takers@oxfordms.net

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

47

SILVER BRONZE

PARK CITY

UTAH

BRONZE

PORT TOWNSEND

WASHINGTON

Community Highlights: Park City forms a complete cycling environment and provides opportunities for both transportation and recreational cycling. Mountain biking is renown with 300 miles of singletrack trail through housing developments and three world class ski resorts.

The town boasts a bike/ped bridge that spans I-80.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: The city

quadrupled the number of bike racks.

Best Result of Designation:

NEW

Increased media, both locally and nationally, brought attention to the bike programs.

COMMUNITY

Community Highlights: Port Townsend’s cycling network

BFC Since: 2007 Population: 20,620 Square Miles: 102 Contact: Carol Potter • (435) 731-0975 • Carol@mountaintrails.org

BRONZE

REDMOND

Port Townsend’s local engineers and planners have attended Smart Cycling courses taught by the League, three out of four schools offer safety programs and a local teen coffee house offers bicycle maintenance education.

WASHINGTON

NEW

COMMUNITY Community Highlights: Redmond boasts more than 80 miles of interconnected bicycle lanes, paths and trails. With the ongoing support of the bicycle community, Redmond’s upcoming bicycle improvements include stripping new bike lanes, providing new trail connections, and improving bicycle wayfinding signage and parking. Redmond also provides businesses and residents with grants and incentives to encourage bicycle commuting.

connects riders on a system of single-track, off road and on-road bikeways. With more than 50 percent of arterial roads having bike lanes or shoulders and 18 miles of natural surface trails over nine square miles of land, the community is very conducive to bicycling. Local engineers and planners have attended Smart Cycling courses taught by the League, three out of four schools offer safety programs and a local teen coffee house offers bicycle maintenance education. Additionally, city government employees are encouraged to bike commute to work, and their work facilites provide bike parking & showers.

The city hosted a LCI seminar to get people trained to lead more classes throughout the community.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: The current bicycle mode share for commuters is 5.30 percent which is more than 13 times the national average.

Most SIGNIFICANT RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENT: Port

Townsend recently formed a bicycle education program targeting middle school students.

Best Result of Designation: Redmond’s desire to retain its BFC designation and reach the next level has been an excellent motivational tool when working with staff, the community and City Council.

BFC Since: 2003 Population: 49,890 Square Miles: 16.8 Contact: John Nordquist • (425) 556 2737 • jnordquist@redmond.gov

48 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

BFC Since: 2008 Population: 8,334 Square Miles: 9.45 Contact: Mary Heather Ames • (360) 344-4616 • mames@cityofpt.us

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

BRONZE

ROSEVILLE

CALIFORNIA

NEW

COMMUNITY

BRONZE

ROSWELL

GEORGIA

Community Highlights: Roswell city leaders look at improvements for bicycling in the community as improving the quality of life for its residents. The city has spent more than $10 million on multi-use paths over the last five years and has budgeted an additional $12 million in the next few years. Roswell promotes bicycling and bicycle safety through Smart Cycling classes for children and adults and has a bicycle fleet that allows any city employee to check out a bicycle to ride to work. Bike Roswell!, the local advocacy group, held a catered meeting specifically for elected local public officials and city employees to educate them on the Georgia bicycling laws and ways to educate the public.

BFC Since: 2006 Population: 85,920 Square Miles: 38.6 Contact: Eric Broadwell • (678) 520-7337 • feastland@bikeroswell.com

BRONZE

Community Highlights: Roseville has an extensive bicycle network – 75 percent of arterial roadways are equipped with bike lanes, and they have 27 miles of shared use paths. The city has an annual budget to increase bike parking options, with a focus on secure long-term bike parking for commuters. To further encourage bike education, the city’s bikeway planner and two local advocates recently became LCI’s. This has enabled Roseville to expand their Bike Month educational outreach, as well as offering Smart Cycling courses year round. Their 2008 Bicycle Master Plan Update offered an increased emphasis on education, enforcement and encouragement.

Best Result of Designation: The Police Department renewed their commitment to work with the bicycling community, including designating a department bicycle liaison. Roseville also established a Bicycle Safety Task Force to evaluate collision trends and safety concerns, while identifying solutions.

BFC Since: 2008 Population: 109,154 Square Miles: 35.6 Contact: Michael Dour • (916) 746-1304 • mdour@roseville.ca.us

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

SACRAMENTO

CALIFORNIA

Community Highlights: Sacramento has a network of bike lanes and trails and plans to expand the system for even better bicycle access. The idea is to incorporate a network of bike trails and bike lanes within new developments. Innovative bicycle friendly elements, such as shared lane markings and signs, one way streets with right and left side bike lanes, and bicycle sensitive video detection at traffic signals have been introduced. The Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates, along with Transportation Management Associations, hold lunch hour Smart Cycling clinics that reach hundreds of employees each year. Additionally, the City of Sacramento runs the Captain Jerry Traffic Safety Program for elementary school children.

BFC Since: 2006 Population: 457,514 Square Miles: 99.2 Contact: Edward Cox • (916) 808-8434 • ecox@cityofsacramento.org

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

49

SILVER BRONZE

SALEM

OREGON

BRONZE

SALT LAKE CITY

UTAH

Community Highlights: The city has a Complete Streets policy to mandate that bicyclists and pedestrians are adequately accommodated on all future roadway development projects. On the Salt Lake City website there is a bike route maintenance form that allows bicyclists to report problems on bike routes. All schools participate in the Safe Routes to School program. The Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective’s (SLCBC) mission is to promote cycling as an effective and sustainable form of transportation and as a cornerstone of a cleaner, healthier and safer society. The SLCBC provides refurbished bicycles and educational programs to the community, focusing on children and lower income households.

NEW

COMMUNITY

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski (pictured above in helmet and sunglasses) participated in the July 2008 Breakfast on Bikes event, sponsored by the Mid-Willamette Valley Chapter of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance. Photo by Linda Morrell

BFC Since: 2007 Population: 181,743 Square Miles: 111 Contact: Dan Bergenthal • (801) 535-7106 • Dan.Bergenthal@slcgov.com

BRONZE

SAN JOSE

CALIFORNIA

Community Highlights: In 2008, the city opened five

Community Highlights: Centered in a regional hotbed

of bike-friendly communities and states, Salem is quickly coming into their own. Through the efforts of a local chapter of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, Bike Commute Challenge and the Salem Bicycle Club’s 1,500 rider strong Monster Cookie Ride continue to grow. Additionally, 60 percent of arterial roadways accommodate cyclists through bike lanes or paved shoulders. Salem also has introduced a Smart Commuter Program, bicycle detection zones at all video detection intersections and a minimum one percent fuel tax for bicycle and pedestrian projects. Other efforts include art bike racks downtown and bike racks on all city busses. A Bicycle Safety Education curriculum has recently been implemented in four city schools.

miles of Guadalupe River Trail to the public, including a trail undercrossing State Hwy 101. The highway formerly presented a barrier for bicyclists. This trail provides connections to jobs and housing centers, transit stations, schools, and regional trail systems.

Seven bike lane projects totalled six miles. These projects connected with previously completed bike lane segments to expand San Jose’s bikeway network to more than 200 miles. Additonally, 300 public bike racks were installed throughout the city, increasing the citywide total to more than 1,000 public racks.

Best Result of Designation: The BFC designation has

increased community acknowledgment and awareness of bicycling in Salem. The city now works together to improve bicycling.

BFC Since: 2008 Population: 152,239 Square Miles: 48.3 Contact: Julie Warncke • (503) 588-6211 • jwarncke@cityofsalem.net

50 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

BFC Since: 2006 Population: 912,332 Square Miles: 178.2 Contact: John Brazil • (408) 975-3206 • john.brazil@sanjoseca.gov

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

BRONZE

SANTA CLARITA

CALIFORNIA

BRONZE

SCHAUMBERG

ILLINOIS

Community Highlights: Schaumburg encourages bicy-

cling through a variety of development and promotional strategies and sponsors bicycle oriented community festivals, events and educational programs. Schaumburg’s Bicycle Plan enables the village to continually adapt and expand planned bicycle access to a network of 87 miles of bike lanes, paths and routes.

Best Result of Designation: Visibility — Being BFC has raised awareness of bicycling and enhanced Schaumburg’s profile and reputation as a community that provides residents and the business community with many amenities. Being a BFC also provides Schaumburg with a competitive edge in a large metropolitan area, while the achievement generates dialogue on a number of related issues.

BFC Since: 2003 Population: 73,346 Square Miles: 49.5 Contact: Richard Bascomb • (847) 923.3862 • rbascomb@ci.schaumburg.il.us

Community Highlights: When Santa Clarita became a

city, the community was a fragmented group of neighborhoods built without common infrastructure. In the past 20 years, the city has invested millions of dollars in the construction of more than 50 miles of large on and off-street networks of bicycling facilities that connect cyclists and other users to employment, shopping and recreation.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: The City’s 2008 Annual Bike-To-Work day attracted 56 percent more participants than in 2007.

Best Result of Designation: This has uniquely positioned the City as only one of a few in Southern California to receive this distinction. As a result, the City hosts three major biking events annually: (1) a stage in the Amgen Tour of California, the largest cycling event in America, (2) a community bike ride and rally called, Hit the Trail, and (3) Bike-To-Work day.

BFC Since: 2007 Population: 175,314 Square Miles: 52 Contact: Ian Pari • (661) 284-1402 • ipari@santa-clarita.com

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

BRONZE

SHAWNEE

KANSAS

Community Highlights: Shawnee was the first city in the

Kansas City Metro area to adopt a bicycle transportation plan that incorporated on-road and off-road bicycle facilities. The town has a four mile mountain bike trail and was a pioneer community in putting public safety employees, such as Fire Department personnel, on bikes. Shawnee has made significant investments toward the Bicycle and Recreational Trail Master Plan.

Recently, Shawnee partnered with Kansas City, Missouri to offer a BFC Workshop in Shawnee. The event brought together more than 100 people, representing area municipalities and the local bicycling community from the KC Metro area and neighboring states.

BFC Since: 2003 Population: 57,628 Square Miles: 42 Contact: Neil Holman • (913) 631-5200 • nholman@cityofshawnee.org

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

51

SILVER BRONZE

SITKA

ALASKA

NEW

COMMUNITY Community Highlights: Sitka is an ideal community for

bicycling and is known for its casual working environment, love for the outdoors, environmental awareness and strong sense of independence. With overwhelming support from the residents, Sitka’s leaders have signed on to the BFC Action Plan and actively support bicycling and walking improvements. With almost half of Sitka’s streets already containing bike lanes, the city has conducted Complete Streets training for city employees so they can understand how to better accommodate all roadway users. Additionally, signed routes have been implemented leading to town centers and popular destinations. Through an ambitious campaign last year, Share the Road messaging was spread through use of public service announcements, use of community media and fliers for cars and bikes.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: Sitka is one

of the smallest, and rainiest (more than 90 inches of rain annually), communities recognized within the BFC program, yet 3.6 percent of the population still commutes by bike.

Most SIGNIFICANT RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENT: The city has engaged in a systematic Bicycle Level of Service Study.

BFC Since: 2008 Population: 8,883 Square Miles: 4811 Contact: Matthew Turner • (907) 747-3665 • mturner@smallstones.net

52 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

BRONZE

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE

CALIFORNIA

Community Highlights: The South Lake Tahoe Trail Map system is printed on metal placards and located on trailhead signs.

Forty thousand Lake Tahoe Bicycle Trail Maps are distributed for free and are produced by the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition and designed by the Tahoe Daily Tribune. The map includes all paved bikeways and key dirt trails throughout the region. Between 75 and 100 new bike racks will be placed at businesses, public beach access points and other public facilities throughout the City of South Lake Tahoe.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: There are more than 100 miles of excellent mountain bike trails in the South Lake Tahoe area that are located on United States Forest Service lands.

BFC Since: 2006 Population: 23,609 Square Miles: 16.5 Contact: Stan Hill • (530) 542-6039 • shill@cityofslt.us

BRONZE

SOUTH SIOUX CITY

NEBRASKA

Community Highlights: South Sioux City is completing

2.5 miles of trail between Dakota City and South Sioux City. Once complete, the trail will connect to the current 6.5 miles of trail that already exist in South Sioux. The Veterans Bridge downtown is open to cyclists and pedestrians, and its eight foot biking and walking lane is completely separate from motorized traffic. The community continues to invest in cycling infrastructure and promotions.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: South Sioux City ranks as the leader per capita in the state of Nebraska and local metro area of having the most extensive and well maintained bike trail.

BFC Since: 2006 Population: 11,925 Square Miles: 5.2 Contact: Jim Steele • (402) 494-7577 • jsteele@southsiouxcity.org

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

BRONZE

SPARTANBURG

SOUTH CAROLINA

BRONZE

ST. PETERSBURG

FLORIDA

Community Highlights: City leaders have made creating

a more Bicycle Friendly Community a priority in Spartanburg. A Bike Town Initiative has made bicycle infrastructure a priority and increased bicycle facilities and education investments. Spartanburg began a Hub Cycle bike-sharing program and holds popular events, like the Assault on Mount Mitchell and the annual downtown criterium. Bicycle lane mileage has quadrupled and the number of bicycle racks has increased fivefold since the Bike Town Initiative.

The BFC award inspired the city and led to the development of a new county and citywide Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan.

Best Result of Designation: Spartanburg installed four

miles of new bike routes in its urban area in 2008. The routes are a combination of striped bike lanes and sharrow markings. They create safe corridors and connect low-income areas and the liberal arts college to downtown, historic neighborhoods, ball fields, hiking trails and the local high school.

Community Highlights: The City has embarked on an ag-

gressive program to install more bike parking downtown. The City has added more than 80 bicycle bicycle parking spaces at more than 52 locations in the last two years. Additionally, they created three bike corrals by converting three motor vehicle parking spaces into bike parking areas and installed 48 racks to expand and fully equip each of the City’s recreation centers with bike parking.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: Our combined education and engineering efforts have resulted in a 15 percent reduction in bicycle crashes in the last two years.

BFC Since: 2006 Population: 249,090 Square Miles: 133 Contact: Cheryl Stacks • (727) 892-5328 • cheryl.stacks@stpete.org

BRONZE

SUNNYVALE

CALIFORNIA

Spartanburg’s Pedal With Your Politician event brought local, state and national leaders together to ride on the city’s newest bike lane as part of National Bike to Work Day.

Community Highlights: Three new bicycle bridges over

area freeways will be completed in 2009, involving a total investment of more than $ 18 million. The community has also conducted comprehensive, citywide planning and engineering for the completion of a bikeway network. This has resulted in the construction of more than 70 miles of new bike lanes in the past seven years. Every year for the past seven years, the City has constructed new bike lanes. This will continue in 2009, with three bike lane projects slated for construction.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: Since initiation of the City’s bikeway construction program, bicycle ridership has increased twofold.

BFC Since: 2007 Population: 39,487 Square Miles: 20 Contact: Jean Crow • (864) 598-9638 • jcrow@active-living.org

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

BFC Since: 2006 Population: 131,760 Square Miles: 22.6 Contact: Jack Witthaus • (408) 730-7330 • jwitthaus@ci.sunnyvale.ca.us

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

53

SILVER BRONZE

THOUSAND OAKS

CALIFORNIA

BRONZE

VANCOUVER

WASHINGTON

Community Highlights: Vancouver is establishing a 52 mile signed bicycle route signage system using the new MUTCD bicycle route sign standards that will assist bicyclists as they travel through town and into adjacent cities. Since the Summer of 2007, the City has distributed 20,000 copies of the Vancouver bicycle map and has developed an I-5 bridge map to help bicyclists navigate their way from downtown Vancouver into Portland, Oregon.

Best Result of Designation: In 2008, a road diet was

implemented on an important arterial roadway. It reduced the number of travel lanes and allowed for the installation of bicycle lanes.

BFC Since: 2005 Population: 156,600 Square Miles: 48.5 Contact: Jennifer Campos • 360-487-7728 • jennifer.campos@ci.vancouver.wa.us

NEW

COMMUNITY Community Highlights: In addition to its 43 miles of

bike lanes, Thousand Oaks started using sharrows at signalized intersections to encourage cyclists to move to a safe and correct lane position. The city also installed calibrated traffic signal video detectors and ‘bikes allowed full use of lane’ signage where lanes are too narrow to share. Along with Engineering treatments, the city encourages bicycling through free bus rides for cyclists during Bike to Work Week, Crusin’ the Conejo community ride, bilingual bike education and a bike route map with safety information that is distributed to new employees and tenants. The Bicycle Program Manager reached out to all 18 schools with safety instruction.

A School Site Safety Team was formed to evaluate walking and biking conditions around area schools. The city is adopting the Bicycle Advsory Team’s recommendations and is recruiting a bicycle coordinator.

BFC Since: 2008 Population: 127,644 Square Miles: 56 Contact: Kathy Lowry • (805) 449-2416 • klowry@toaks.org

54 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

BRONZE

WASHINGTON

DC

Community Highlights: D.C. has more cyclists than ever,

a mayor and administration promoting cycling, and an active bicycle advocacy group — the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA). Cycling improvements were exciting in 2008, and January 2009 kicked off as a monumental month — WABA, with help from DDOT, parked more than 2,000 bikes at two valet stations (a national record for a one-day event) for the Inauguration.

Best Result of Designation: The city launched Smart-

BikeDC, the country’s first automated public bike rental system, amidst unprecedented local, national, and international attention.

D.C. also installed 370 bike racks – a one year record. The District taught bicycle and pedestrian safety to more than 5,000 kids and 200 adults and utilized the Street Smart Campaign, a $600,000 radio and transit ad campaign, to educate drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists.

“The Bicycle Friendly Communities program has been an effective tool that has helped us accelerate improvements for cyclists in the DC area.” - Eric Gilliland, Executive Director, Washington Area Bicyclist Association

BFC Since: 2003 Population: 553,523 Square Miles: 61.3 Contact: Jim Sebastian • (202) 671-2331 • jim.sebastian@dc.gov

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

BICYCLE FRIENDLY BUSINESSES

BICYCLE FRIENDLY BUSINESSES

D

emonstrate your commitment to encouraging healthy lifestyles, creating more affordable transportation, and providing greater options for your employees by joining other innovative business leaders around the nation as a Bicycle Friendly Business.

The Bicycle Friendly Business program recognizes socially responsible businesses that promote healthy, happy, and green workplaces and provides a road map to become even better. Bicycle Friendly Businesses are corporations, organizations, nonprofits and associations that weave

The Bicycle Friendly Business program recognizes socially responsible businesses that promote healthy, happy and green workplaces.

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

bicycling into the business culture and give employees and customers the opportunity to be active stewards of their personal and environmental health through bicycling.

Why Should you Be a Part of This Movement?

When bicycling is infused in an office or company culture, great things happen: • Reduced health care costs • More productive employees • Improved worker and customer satisfaction • Smaller carbon footprint • Increased corporate social responsibility

Businesses that apply for the award designation are also inspired and encouraged by their peers. The BFB program serves as a clearinghouse for best practices and innovation in bicycle friendliness at the workplace. Some examples of good BFB practices include: • Secure bike parking • Shower facilities

• Incentives to commute by bike • Company bike rides and clubs • Bike to Work Week promotions It’s Easy to Apply and we are here to help

Applying to BFB is easy and free. Applicants receive technical assistance from the League staff as well as tools to evaluate and assess their bicycle friendliness through the application process.

The BFB application is available online at www.bicyclefriendlybusiness.org.

Don’t know if you should apply?

We’ve provided a quick and easy way for you to decide. Complete the BFB at a Glance Scorecard for a quick assessment of your business, located at www.bicyclefriendlybusiness.org, and click on Apply.

Contact the League of American Bicyclists at 202-822-1333 or email info@bicyclefriendlybusiness.org for more information.

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

55

GOLD

ALTA PLANNING & DESIGN

BUSINESS Highlights: Alta Planning + Design offers all

employees shower facilities, bike tools on site, and secure bike storage.

The company’s dedication to helping communities across the country to become more bicycle and pedestrian friendly is evident not only through their planning work but through their annual contribution of company revenue to bicycle friendly organizations. It’s no wonder Alta Planning + Design Portland, Ore. won the city commuter contest for small businesses with over 50 percent of employees riding to work more than twice a week; this office also boasts a bike sharing program. The New York office played a big role in helping host the annual bicycle commuter challenge at the state capitol.

Alta employees that ride receive cash incentives, free annual bike tune-ups, a 20 percent discount on the purchase of a new bike, and a cash payment for joining a health club. The business has a guaranteed ride home program, a commuting mentorship program, and includes an all-company bike ride as part of their annual meeting. With multiple League Cycling Instructors on staff, bicycling safety and education classes are easily and frequently hosted.

Most Innovative & Effective Recent Achievement:

Alta Planning + Design just opened their new headquarters office in Portland, Ore. The building includes indoor bike parking, showers, access to bike lanes and trails, and has a great bike shop next door for their clients and visitors.

Upcoming Plans: Alta Planning + Design has recently

launched a new Bicycle Programs section that is focused on encouragement, enforcement and education. The team will help communities, businesses and agencies create balanced programs to become more bicylcle friendly.

most compelling statistic: Every person in the company

rides a bike. The business contributes a percentage of their profits to bicycle friendly organizations. As planners and designers, every one of their projects is making communities more bicycle friendly.

Website: www.altaplanning.com

Employees: 51

56 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

HQ Location: Portland, OR

Phone: (518) 584-6634

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

GOLD

CLIF BAR & COMPANY

Business Highlights: Clif Bar & Company was started on a

bike ride, so it’s no surprise that this California based company is still so bicycle friendly. The business gives employees $500 to purchase a commuter bike or retrofit their existing bike for commuting purposes.

Once riding, the company’s Cool Commute Program encourages employees to keep riding. Employees earn points with every mile and can redeem them for gift cards, massages, commuter checks, carbon offsets and more. Clif Bar promotes Bike to Work Day with a raffle and last year got more than 75 percent of employees to ride.

Employees are encouraged to maintain a healthy lifestyle and are paid for 30 minutes per day to work out — many employees use this time

for cycling to and from work! Their 2 Mile Challenge Program was launched in 2006 to encourage people to ride their bikes for trips of two miles or less.

The business participates in the Alameda County’s Emergency Ride Home program which guarantees employees a free ride home in the event of an emergency. Clif Bar also provides several cruiser bikes that employees can use to ride around town and hosts an annual company bike ride capped off with a barbeque and party. Their “Rethink Your Ride” is an educational forum on bicycling for employees and neighboring businesses. Every Friday morning an informal training ride, which welcomes all levels of cycling, leaves from the workplace. All of this, along with an extremely casual dress code, makes bike commuting and training easy at Clif Bar & Company.

Most Compelling Statistic: Thirty-six Clif employees are sporting new bikes or have made their bikes more commuter-friendly (new lights, trailers, etc) using the company’s Cool Bike incentive program.

Best result of Designation: The best result has been discovering all the new ideas about how we can make our business even more bike-friendly.

Upcoming Plans: This year, Clif Bar plans on adding twice as much bike parking at the headquarters office.

Clif Bar & Company gives employees $500 to purchase a commuter bike or retrofit their existing bike for commuting purposes.

Website: www.clifbar.com

Employees: 229

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

Location: Berkley, CA

Phone: (510) 558-7855

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

57

GOLD

LANDRY’S BICYCLES

Business Highlights: Landry’s Bicycles boasts 65 percent

employee commutership — why wouldn’t you bike if you were an employee at Landry’s? The company provides employees with showers, changing facilities, discounts on bikes and accessories, secure bike parking, discounted gym memberships, and an in-house bike loan program. In addition to helping promote local bike safety classes, Landry’s trains all company drivers on how to safely operate a vehicle around cyclists.

Landry’s Bicycles makes it easy for employees to commute and stay in the know about bicycling issues and events. The company website has an abundance of information including an online bicycling event calendar, rules of the road for cyclists, information on bicycling skills classes, and more. Landry’s Bicycles supports local, state and national bicycle advocacy organizations. To date, the company has recruited and sold 2,200 memberships for MassBike and NEMBA (New England Mountain Bike Association) — a result of over $65,000 in support. Landry’s marketing department regularly hosts meetings while on bikes to promote collaboration between local business and advocates — the best way to experience what Landry’s business is all about is to share a bike ride! The business is also active in local work to increase bicycle awareness and friendliness within the greater Boston area.

Best result of Designation: Inside the company, all Landry staff have been honored to receive one of the first gold-level BFB Awards. They recently ran an internal bike-commuting merchandising contest among all four Landry’s store teams — to decide which store would receive the framed award. (All the store teams did a great job, and Landry’s Natick store team won.)

Upcoming Plans: Beyond continuing Landry’s existing programs, the business is planning to implement the new Bicycle Commuter Tax Benefit starting this winter. The company is also planning to encourage other employers in the Boston area to provide the Bicycle Commuter Tax Benefit program to their employees.

Most Innovative & Effective Recent Achievement:

This past year, Landry’s Bicycles signed on as a major sponsor and promoter of the City of Boston’s Hub On Wheels citywide bike ride and festival. They recruited a substantial rider team for Hub On Wheels, provided event publicity, donated prizes and mechanicalsupport services, and exhibited at the post-ride festival at Boston City Hall Plaza. Landry’s Bicycles wholeheartedly supports the City of Boston’s ongoing efforts to become a Bicycle Friendly Community.

Website: www.landrys.com

Employees: 35 year-round; 75 May-August

58 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

HQ Location: Natick, MA

Phone: (781) 646-1486

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

GOLD

QUALITY BICYCLE PRODUCTS

Business Highlights: Quality Bicycle Products (QBP)

employees earned nearly $22,000 in bicycle commuter credits from the company in only seven months; additionally, the company raised $80,000 for World Bicycle Relief. They host a pancake and bacon breakfast for bike commuters on Bike to Work Day, how-to-clinics, a commuter mentorship program, and a bike loan program. The business provides shower facilities, locker rooms, bike tools and supplies, and lots of indoor bicycle parking. There is an innovative pallet rack to create high density indoor bike parking with an indoor/outdoor thermometer to help bike commuters choose proper riding gear.

QBP hosts yearly bike classes on bike commuting and bike commuters are encouraged to log their trips on an internal website, which includes trip dates, distance, total distance, and credits earned. Of the 453 employees, 15 percent ride to work. In 2007, they cumulatively logged 287,000 miles, a 50 percent increase from the previous year, in 2008 they logged 325,000 miles! QBP has developed a Commuter Bicycle League, which consists of 10 teams of 10 riders. The teams face off in a commuter competition during a 20 week season and have a six week playoff period to determine the overall winner. QBP works with local, state and national advocacy groups to help promote bicycling facilities and programs. The Hyland Park bike trail connects directly to the QBP parking lot, where they offer free parking to all trail users.

Website: www.qbp.com

Employees: 453

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

Location: Bloomington, MN

QBP employees logged 325,000 miles by bike commuting in 2008 – a savings of 250,000 lbs. of carbon emissions!

Most Innovative & Effective Recent Achievement:

QBP is a leader in promoting bicycling through innovative means.

The business made a large donation to help launch a statewide Minnesota bicycle advocacy group, donated more than $4,000 to World Bicycle Relief through individual commuter credits, sponsored the Greenlightride.org website that was launched by one of their brands to encourage more bike commuting through friendly competition, and helped fund the new Cayuna Recreation MTB trail in Northern Minnesota, which IMBA intends to make a national destination trail system.

Most Compelling Statistic: In 2008, QBP employees commuted 325,000 miles by bike, equivalent to 13 trips around the planet; 288 employees rode to work at least once and logged 27,600 trips for an average one-way commute of 12 miles.

Best result of Designation: Mostly it was a feel good award for QBP; however, they did learn about a few small initiatives that the business can implement.

Phone: (952) 941-9391

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

59

SILVER

COMMUNITY CYCLES

Business Highlights: Although a small organization, Com-

munity Cycles is big on bike friendliness. The business provides a discount on equipment for employees and volunteers, shower facilities, a bicycle repair station, dedicated bike maintenance personnel, and bike maintenance supplies. Community Cycles has a unique Rolling Bike Clinic where they hitch up bike trailers and set up a mobile bike station for the day in various neighborhoods. They offer a youth, adult, and work release Earn-A-Bike program to encourage community members to ride a bicycle. Community Cycles’ two employees live a car-free lifestyle and commute to work 100 percent of the time.

Having direct access to the Goose Creek Greenway, a major bike path in town, makes bicycling to and from the workplace easy. Community Cycles has joined forces with local businesses and advocacy groups to work toward a more bicycle friendly Boulder and was an active participant in the Boulder Bicycle Summit.

Most Innovative & Effective Recent Achievement:

Community Cycles coordinated W&B (Walk & Bike) Month 2008 and registered over 7,500 people for Bike to Work Day. Most Compelling Statistic: The busi-

ness had 270 Earn-A-Bike graduates in 2008. Graduates rode away with reliable commuter bikes and the skills and resources necessary to keep them in working order.

Upcoming Plans: The business is in the process of creating a Bike to Shop campaign to help create incentives for people to bike while running errands in Boulder. They also plan on coordinating Walk & Bike Month again in 2009.

Website: www.CommunityCycles.org Employees: 2 Location: Boulder, CO Phone: (720) 565-6019

60 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

SILVER

ECOLOGY ACTION

Business Highlights: Ecology Action has a carbon reduc-

tion program and an environmentally preferable purchasing program that offers employees zero percent interest loans on bikes and a folding bike rebate. The business encourages employees to ride to work through a financial incentive program and by offering an accommodating company dress code. Encouragement such as this has led to 20 percent of Ecology Action’s employees riding to work more than twice a week. Ecology Action is an active organization that arranges numerous bike programs for the Santa Cruz County ranging from monthly bike safety classes to Bike to Work Day/School activities.

Most Innovative & Effective Recent Achievement:

All Ecology Action employees who ride to work regularly receive $25 a month reimbursement for bike expenses.

Most Compelling Statistic: Ecology Action

hosted spring and fall Bike to Work/School Day events with over 9,500 participants who biked over 55,000 miles, reducing approximately 55,000 pounds of greenhouse gases.

Upcoming Plans: The business is planning to increase their monthly reimbursement for bike commuting, while also tracking miles ridden. Also in the works for Ecology Action is hosting quarterly onsite bike repair days.

Website: www.ecoact.org Employees: 48 HQ Location: Santa Cruz, CA Phone: (831) 426-5925

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

SILVER

REI NORTHBROOK

BRONZE

CALIFORNIA GIANT BERRY FARMS

Business Highlights: Bikes and berries are the culture of

this California company — 15 percent of employees ride to work more than twice a week, bikes are allowed inside the office building, and training rides are held twice a week. California Giant Berry Farms offers their employees reduced prices on bike purchases, provides stationary bikes in the office gym, bicycle lockers for secure bike parking, and a commuting mentorship program that teams experienced bicycle commuters with newcomers. Also on site in their Watsonville headquarters are locker rooms, shower facilities and bike maintenance supplies. The business sponsors an elite road racing team, a masters team and a cyclocross team.

Most Innovative & Effective Recent Achievement:

Business Highlights: REI, Northbrook provides employees with showers, secure bike parking, in-house bike maintenance tools, prize incentives for commuting, and discounts on bikes and bicycling accessories. The business partners with local nature centers, such as forest preserves and the Chicago Park District, to host rides for community members. REI, Northbrook supports Mayor Daley’s Bicycling Ambassadors and Bike to Work Day by providing rest stops in the area. Nearly 30 percent of their staff commute at least once a week by bike and cumulatively commute more than 1,000 miles every month! Because of this high ridership, the business has won consecutive commuter challenges with other REI locations. In addition to having a fleet of bikes at the business for employee use, REI, Northbrook has coordinated massive bike donations from local police departments to various community partners that either fix and use the bikes or donate the repaired bikes to people in need.

The company installed stationary bikes in their employee fitness center and purchased two bikes for employees to ride during their lunch hour, as part of a fitness regime, or just to run errands around town.

Best result of Designation: It has raised awareness in the community that any type of business can be bike friendly, not just businesses that are in the bicycling industry.

Website: www.calgiant.com Employees: 75 HQ Location: Watsonville, CA Phone: (831) 728-1773

BRONZE

EASYSTREET ONLINE SERVICES

Most Innovative & Effective Recent Achievement:

In 2008 REI, Northbrook hosted a series of free bicycle related classes to help educate customers and staff. Topics ranged from basic bike maintenance to winter bike commuting and were held at the store. REI, Northbrook staff also took the class to educate and promote cycling in schools and other kid-focused organizations.

Best result of Designation: It is wonderful to have the surrounding communities know that REI, Northbrook is one of many great local organizations and businesses that care about and actively promote cycling.

Upcoming Plans: Members of the REI, Northbrook staff have formed a bicycle committee to develop programs and promotions to encourage and enable more employees to use bicycles! They are looking forward to a series of classes for the staff, as well as contests, organized rides and more.

Website: www.rei.com Employees: 75 Location: Northbrook, IL Phone: (847) 480-1938

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

Business Highlights: EasyStreet Online Services competes

in the annual Carefree Commuter Challenge and the Bike Commute Challenge to help encourage employees to bike. The business sponsors several bike racing teams, bicycle advocacy groups, and the state-wide organization OBRA (Oregon Bicycle Racing Association) by donating Web hosting and internet access. The executive staff at EasyStreet provide a great role model for bicycling, 75 percent of them are regular bike commuters with one being an incoming board member of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance. The business provides shower facilities, bicycle lockers and bicycle maintenance supplies. There is also bike-route-mapping assistance and a commuting mentorship, which teams experienced bicycle commuters with newcomers, for employees.

Website: www.easystreet.com Employees: 40 Location: Beaverton, OR Phone: (503) 646-8400

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

61

BRONZE ROANOKE VALLEY-ALLEGHANY REGIONAL COMMISSION

BRONZE

SANTA CRUZ SEASIDE COMPANY

Business Highlights:

Business Highlights: The Roanoke Valley-Alleghany

Regional Commission (RVARC) provides showers, changing rooms, bicycle maintenance supplies, incentives during Bike to Work Day, and a flexible work schedule to encourage employees to ride their bicycles. The result of such encouragement is that 30 percent of the staff commute to work by bike more than twice a week. There is an abundance of bike parking directly outside of the RVARC workplace, and employees are allowed to bring their bikes inside to store.

The business organizes the RIDE Solutions program, an alternative transportation program (www.ridesolutions.org) and a bicycle rack donation program for the region. They have also developed an online bicycle commuting guide for the Roanoke Valley, an interactive bicycle map, the Downtown Roanoke Bicycle Parking Location Map, the Greenway Map, and have updated and reprinted 10,000 additional copies of the Bus, Bike, Hike Roanoke Valley Map. Website: www.rvarc.org Location: Roanoke, VA.

BRONZE

Employees: 12 Phone: (540) 343-4417

URBAN ADVENTOURS

Seaside Company provides free breakfast to all employees who bicycle to work on Bike to Work Day and offers a prize drawing of product giveaways.

The business encourages bicycling by providing secure bike lockers, bike racks, showers, changing rooms, and incentives such as zero interest loans for a bike purchase. Employees also have access to the Emergency Ride Home service when needed. Bikes are available to use on the job for more convenient rapid transit. Seaside promotes safe bicycling through their new employee orientation and newsletter and distributes bike maps to staff. Seaside Company is also a sponsor of the Amgen Tour of California and many other local tours. most compelling statistic: A quarter of Seaside Company’s full time employees bike to work during good weather. best result of DESIGNATION: Employees enjoyed the recognition for their dedication to bicycling; the award provided a boost to the already great moral of the company.

Website: www.beachboardwalk.com Employees: 170 Location: Santa Cruz, CA Phone: (831) 423-5590

BRONZE

WHATCOM COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS

Business Highlights: Urban AdvenTours is committed to

making bicycling viable in the Boston community, which is evident through their generous support of local bicycle advocacy. The business provides showers, locker rooms, a bicycle repair station and maintenance supplies to its employees. Urban AdvenTours demands that each employee ride responsibly and instructs all guests on bicycling safety and positive and proper riding techniques. This unique, eco-friendly bicycle Boston tour company knows that the best, healthiest and most exciting way to see their city is from a bicycle.

With an entire staff that rides to work regularly, their work culture is bike culture.

“Our company’s bike culture attracts enthusiastic employees.

Being bicycle friendly keeps us healthy, supports our green mission, and helps us stay connected to the Boston community.” – Patrick Kelleher-Calnan, Chief Operations Wheeler, Urban AdvenTours

Website: www.urbanadventours.com Employees: 12 Location: Boston, MA Phone: (617) 233-7595

62 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

Business Highlights: Whatcom Council of Governments (WCOG) provides locker rooms, discounted gym memberships, and bicycle maintenance supplies to all employees. There is ample bike parking for their employees and guests, which gets heavy use since 42 percent of the staff commutes to work by bike more than twice a week.

Bicycle safety classes are offered on a monthly basis, and the business recently purchased a six foot long, 300 pound capacity cargo trailer for staff use. The business encourages employees to use the Smart Trips online diary, which includes individually tailored encouragement, calculation of reduced emissions, and money saved. The program also promotes bicycling for all types of trips, not just commutes. To view and use the program go to www.whatcomsmarttrips.org. most compelling statistic: Nearly half of WCOG staff regularly commute by bicycle, and 75 percent of the 12 full-time employees regularly make Smart Trips.

Website: www.wcog.org Employees: 12 Location: Bellingham, WA Phone: (360) 676-6974

For more info: www.bikeleague.org

VIEWPOINT THE LEAGUE OF AMERICAN BICYCLISTS The League of American Bicyclists, founded in 1880 as the League of American Wheelmen, promotes bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation, and works through advocacy and education for a bicycle-friendly America. The League represents the interests of the nation’s 57 million bicyclists. With a current membership of 300,000 affiliated cyclists, including 40,000 individuals and 600 organizations, the League works to bring better bicycling to your community. Contact League officers, directors or staff at League of American Bicyclists, 1612 K Street, NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20006-2850, 202-822-1333; bikeleague@bikeleague.org, fax: 202-822-1334.

BICYCLE FRIENDLY COMMUNITY STAFF Tim Blumenthal, tim@bikesbelong.org Andy Clarke, andy@bikeleague.org Bill Nesper, bill@bikeleague.org Jeff Peel, jeff@bikeleague.org Alison Dewey, alison@bikeleague.org Elizabeth Train, elizabeth@bikesbelong.org BICYCLE FRIENDLY COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE Timothy Bustos, Fehr & Peers Natalie Cappuccio-Britt, Palmetto Conservation Foundation Martin Guttenplan, Florida Dept. of Transportation Laura Hallam, Florida Bicycle Association Tom Huber, Wisconsin DOT Jeff Olson, Alta Planning + Design Rob Sadowsky, Active Transportation Alliance Jim Sebastian, District of Columbia DOT Sara Strunk, Active Living by Design Jennifer Toole, Toole Design Group Alan Turnbull, National Park Service Dru van Hengel, City of Santa Barbara Jill Van Winkle, International Mountain Bicycling Assoc.

Robbie Webber, Madison, Wis. City Council Charlie Zegeer, Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center LEAGUE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Harry Brull, harrybrull@bikeleague.org, Region 5 Gary Brustin, garybrustin@bikeleague.org, At Large Amanda Eichstaedt, amandaeichstaedt@bikeleague.org, Reg. 6 Lisa Falvy, lisafalvy@bikeleague.org, At Large Bill Hoffman, billhoffman@bikeleague.org, Region 2 Mike Nix, mikenix@bikeleague.org, At Large Bruce Rosar, brucerosar@bikeleague.org, Region 3 Rob Sadowsky, robsadowsky@bikeleague.org, Region 4 John Siemiatkoski, johnsiemiatkoski@bikeleague.org, Reg. 1 Tim Young, timyoung@bikeleague.org, At Large Phyllis Harmon, Director Emeritus, phyllis5377@cs.com AMERICAN BICYCLIST/BFC YEARBOOK STAFF Editor: Meghan Cahill (meghan@bikeleague.org) Art Director: Studio D Design Editor Emeritus: Phyllis W. Harmon American Bicyclist magazine (ISSN 0747-0371) is published six times yearly by the League of American Bicyclists, Inc. ©2009 League of American Bicyclists. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

For more 63 American info: www.bikeleague.org Bicyclist

change Something changed in the Bicycle Friendly Community program during 2008. Certainly, we welcomed two new Platinum communities (Boulder and Portland), closed in on 100 designated communities (out of 250 applications), and saw resolutions supporting the program passed by the House of Representatives and U.S Conference of Mayors. And, as promised, we successfully added Bicycle Friendly States and Bicycle Friendly Businesses to the program.

We added new staff, so that program director Bill Nesper is now ably abetted by Alison Dewey and Jeff Peel in delivering technical assistance and advice.

This gave us the capacity to co-produce a report with the National Conference of State Legislatures, draft a model local traffic ordinance for the Town of Jackson, and deliver training workshops and presentations from Mississippi, Nebraska and Alaska to Florida, Washington and Arizona. The ongoing support of Trek and Bikes Belong has given us an unrivalled opportunity to build the program, and SRAM’s new Cycling Advocacy Fund will boost our ability to change communities during the next two years.

More fundamentally, during a swing through several mid-west communities last May – Des Moines, Cleveland, Kansas, Dayton and Flint – I realized that audiences were no longer needing to be persuaded to do something to be more bicycle-friendly. They wanted to skip straight to the ‘O.K., how do we do it’ part of the presentation. Now, I’m under no illusion that skyrocketing gas prices were more to credit for this than my great oratory; but even so, the change was remarkable. People were hungry for a work plan, a step-by-step guide to becoming more bike friendly.

Fortunately, the shift plays right to the strengths of the Bicycle Friendly America campaign. Whether you are a mayor, a governor or a corporate CEO, the League has a road map or game plan for you. Advocates, human resources professionals, planners and engineers can all find tools, techniques and programs that have been tried and tested in other communities already.

Regardless of your motivation – clean air, energy independence, physical activity, safety, climate protection, economic development or recreation – the numbers are there to support doing more to get people riding.

As a League member, you can be justifiably proud of a program that both validates and supports decades of our work on behalf of cyclists. Thanks to the Bicycle Friendly Community program, more League Cycling Instructors are being certified and more Smart Cycling lessons are being taught than ever. As a result of the first ranking of States, several state legislatures are debating positive changes to their vehicle codes even as you read this. Come National Bike Month in May, you can expect to see a lot more corporate interest and involvement in bike events such as Bike to Work Day.

There’s still a long way to go, but the League’s Bicycle Friendly America campaign is fundamentally changing American communities for the better.

We hope that never changes.

American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

63

COMMUNITY & BUSINESS SIZE INDEX

Bicycling is great for everyone involved — communities, businesses and people. It promotes active lifestyles, reduces traffic congestion and improves air quality; but most importantly, it’s fun!

Communities and businesses of all sizes are utilizing exciting ways to build bicycling into their plans. Use this index to inspire your similarly sized town or place of employment and help us build a bicycle friendly America! For more information on a particular community or business, contact the person listed in their section.

Population: Up to 49,999 Presidio of San Francisco, CA (Silver): 3,000.... 30 Liberty Lake, WA (Bronze): 6,344................... 44 Port Townsend, WA (Bronze): 8,334................ 48 Jackson & Teton County, WY (Gold): 8,647...... 17 Sitka, AK (Bronze): 8,883.............................. 52 Steamboat Springs, CO (Silver): 9,815............ 32 South Sioux City, NE (Bronze): 11,925............ 52 Wood River Valley, ID (Silver): 12,506............ 33 Stanford University, CA (Gold): 13,315............ 22 Durango, CO (Silver): 15,878......................... 26 Arcata, CA (Bronze): 16,651.......................... 35 Oxford, MS (Bronze): 16,727......................... 47 Carrboro, NC (Bronze): 17,797....................... 39 Ashland, OR (Bronze): 19,522........................ 35 Bainbridge Island, WA (Bronze): 20,300.......... 36 Park City, UT (Bronze): 20,620....................... 48 Brunswick, ME (Bronze): 21,820.................... 38 South Lake Tahoe, CA (Bronze): 23,609.......... 52 Claremont, CA (Bronze): 36,612.................... 41 Burlington, VT (Bronze): 38,889..................... 38 Spartanburg, SC (Bronze): 39,487.................. 53 Brentwood, CA (Bronze): 40,007.................... 38 Charlottesville, VA (Bronze): 40,315............... 40 Coeur d’Alene, ID (Bronze): 41,983................ 42 Auburn, AL (Bronze): 42,987......................... 36 San Luis Obispo, CA (Silver): 44,174.............. 30 Olympia, WA (Silver): 44,460........................ 29 Redmond, WA (Bronze): 49,890..................... 48

Population: 50,000 – 199,999 La Crosse, WI (Bronze): 51,818..................... 43 Corvallis, OR (Gold): 53,165.......................... 15 Santa Cruz, CA (Silver): 54,593..................... 31 Palo Alto, CA (Gold): 56,862.......................... 19 Missoula, MT (Silver): 57,053......................... 29 Flagstaff, AZ (Bronze): 57,391....................... 43 Shawnee, KS (Bronze): 57,628...................... 51 Davis, CA (Platinum): 63,722......................... 12 Folsom, CA (Silver): 63,960........................... 27 Mountain View, CA (Bronze): 69,011............... 46 Bloomington, IN (Bronze): 69,107.................. 37 Carmel, IN (Bronze): 70,000.......................... 39 Schaumburg, IL (Bronze): 73,346.................. 51 Bellingham, WA (Silver): 73,460.................... 25 Bend, OR (Bronze): 75,290............................ 37 Chico, CA (Bronze): 79,000........................... 41 Beaverton, OR (Bronze): 79,350.................... 36 Longmont, CO (Bronze): 84,636..................... 45 Roswell, GA (Bronze): 85,920........................ 49

64 American Bicyclist — BFC Yearbook

Santa Barbara, CA (Silver): 87,370................. 31 Lawrence, KS (Bronze): 88,664...................... 44 Billings, MT (Bronze): 100,147....................... 37 Boulder, CO (Platinum): 101,500.................... 10 Arvada, CO (Bronze): 107,050....................... 35 Roseville, CA (Bronze): 109,154..................... 49 Ann Arbor, MI (Bronze): 114,028.................... 34 Columbia, SC (Bronze): 116,278.................... 42 Gainesville, FL (Silver): 117,182..................... 28 Fort Collins, CO (Gold): 118,652..................... 16 Cary, NC (Bronze): 119,745........................... 39 Thousand Oaks, CA (Bronze): 127,644............ 54 Sunnyvale, CA (Bronze): 131,760................... 53 Eugene, OR (Silver): 142,681........................ 27 Salem, OR (Bronze): 152,239........................ 50 Chattanooga, TN (Bronze): 155,554................ 41 Vancouver, WA (Bronze): 156,600.................. 54 Tempe, AZ (Silver): 160,676.......................... 33 Oceanside, CA (Bronze): 174,925................... 47 Santa Clarita, CA (Bronze): 175,314............... 51 Chandler, AZ (Bronze): 176,581..................... 40 Salt Lake City, UT (Bronze): 181,743.............. 50 Gilbert, AZ (Bronze): 196,000........................ 43

Population: 200,000 - 999,999.

Arlington, VA (Silver): 200,226...................... 24

Orlando, FL (Bronze): 205,648....................... 47 Madison, WI (Gold): 221,551......................... 18 Scottsdale, AZ (Silver): 221,792.................... 32 Lexington-Fayette Co., KY (Bronze): 246,800.......44 St. Petersburg, FL (Bronze): 249,090.............. 53 Colorado Springs, CO (Silver): 360,890........... 26 Minneapolis, MN (Silver): 373,188.................. 28 Ada County, ID (Bronze): 395,974.................. 34 Mesa, AZ (Bronze): 437,454.......................... 45 Albuquerque, NM (Bronze): 448,607............... 34 Sacramento, CA (Bronze): 457,514................. 49 Portland, OR (Platinum): 533,492................... 13 Washington, DC (Bronze): 553,523................. 54 Denver, CO (Bronze): 556,835....................... 42 Seattle, WA (Gold): 563,374.......................... 21 Milwaukee, WI (Bronze): 578,887................... 46 Charlotte, NC (Bronze): 648,387.................... 40 Austin, TX (Silver): 681,804.......................... 24 Louisville, KY (Bronze): 700,030..................... 45 San Francisco, CA (Gold): 739,426................. 20 San Jose, CA (Bronze): 912,332..................... 50

Population: 1,000,000+ Tucson/East Pima Region, AZ (Gold): 1,004,477........ 23 Chicago, IL (Silver): 2,896,016...................... 25 New York, NY (Bronze): 8,143,197................. 46

BUSINESS SIZE INDEX

2-50 EMPLOYEES Community Cycles, Boulder, CO (Silver): 2 ................................................................... 60 Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission, Roanoke, VA (Bronze): 12 ...................... 62 Urban AdvenTours, Boston, MA (Bronze): 12 ................................................................. 62 Whatcom Council of Governments, Bellingham, WA (Bronze): 12 ..................................... 62 EasyStreet Online Services, Beaverton, OR (Bronze): 40 ................................................ 61 Ecology Action, Santa Cruz, CA (Silver): 48 .................................................................. 60

50-100 EMPLOYEES Alta Planning + Design, Portland, OR (Gold): 51 ............................................................ 56 REI Northbrook, IL, Northbrook, IL (Silver): 75 ............................................................. 61 Landry’s Bicycles, Natick, MA (Gold): 75 ....................................................................... 58 California Giant Berry Farms, Watsonville, CA (Bronze): 75 ............................................. 61

100+ EMPLOYEES Santa Cruz Seaside Company, Santa Cruz, CA (Bronze): 170 .......................................... 62 Clif Bar & Company, Berkeley, CA (Gold): 229 ............................................................... 57 Quality Bicycle Products, Bloomington, MN (Gold): 453 . ................................................. 59

For more info: www.bikeleague.org