The League of American Bicyclists has recognized the City of Charlottesville with a silver level Bicycle Friendly Community award, joining 450 visionary communities from across the country.
With the announcement of 41 new and renewing BFCs, Charlottesville joins a leading group of communities in every state that are transforming the American landscape.
“We are excited that Bike Month is culminating with this Silver level designation,” said Amanda Poncy, City of Charlottesville Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator. “The opening of the shared use path along Hillsdale Drive last year, the McIntire Park multi-use trail connection over the RR currently under construction, and numerous transportation projects funded and under design (Belmont Bridge, West Main Street, Emmet Street, E. High and Fontaine), we are excited about the progress being made in the community and look forward to improving our BFC ranking in the near future.”
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“We applaud these communities for making bicycling a safe and convenient option for transportation and recreation,” said Bill Nesper, Executive Director at the League of American Bicyclists. “We are encouraged by the growing number of leaders who see bicycling as a way to build more vibrant, healthy, sustainable and connected communities and be a part of the solution to many complex challenges faced at both the community and national levels. We look forward to continuing to work with these communities as we move closer to our mission of creating a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone.”
The BFC program is revolutionizing the way communities evaluate their quality of life, sustainability, and accessibility, while allowing them to benchmark progress toward improving their bicycle-friendliness. With this latest round of new and renewing awardees, there are currently 450 BFCs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The silver level BFC award recognizes Charlottesville’s commitment to improving conditions for bicycling through investment in bicycling promotion, education programs, infrastructure and pro-bicycling policies.
ABOUT THE BICYCLE FRIENDLY COMMUNITY PROGRAM
Since the Bicycle Friendly Community program’s inception over 20 years ago, more than 700 distinct communities have applied for recognition. The program provides a roadmap to building a Bicycle Friendly Community for communities of all shapes and sizes. The rigorous application process is an educational tool in itself, and includes an opportunity for local bicyclists to provide input on their experiences and perceptions of bicycling in their community.
The five levels of the BFC award – diamond, platinum, gold, silver and bronze, plus an honorable mention category and a no designation level – provide a clear incentive for communities to continuously improve. The League of American Bicyclists provides feedback and guidance to every applicant community, regardless of award designation, with the goal of helping every community to improve. Awarded communities must renew their status every four years to ensure that they not only maintain existing efforts, but also keep up with changing technology, national safety standards, and community-driven best practices.
To learn more about the BFC program, visit bikeleague.org/community.
The League of American Bicyclists is leading the movement to create a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone. As leaders, our commitment is to listen and learn, define standards and share best practices to engage diverse communities and build a powerful, unified voice for change.
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