2012-10-23

The American cities of Miami, Los Angeles and Nashville have unique cultures that would make it quite difficult to confuse one for another. From music to food these cities couldn’t be more different, but all three now share one thing in common; these cities have joined the ranks the Bicycle Friendly Communities.

These are three new cities that are among 28 in total to attain BFC status from the League of American Bicyclists, which awards this status at five levels including diamond, platinum, gold, silver and bronze. In total there are now 242 BFCs in 47 states.

“This latest round of BFC awards proves yet again that any city — regardless of size or geography — can take cost-effective steps to increase bicycling in their community,” said League President Andy Clarke. “From Bentonville, Arkansas, to Bethesda, Maryland, cities are embracing biking as a means to save money, reduce congestion, improve health and boost their economy.”

According to the League being a bicycle friendly city is also encouraging people not only to ride a bicycle, but to use it as a means of transportation for getting to and from work. Based on recent census data from 2000 to 2011 the League found that bicycle commuting grew 80 percent in the largest BFCs but was at just 32 percent in non-BFC.

The bicycle is also making headway in places where car culture has long dominated, as noted by the addition of Los Angeles to the list of BFCs. The city attained Bronze BFC status thanks the significant progress made in the past five years. The bicycle culture has seen growth thanks to efforts by individual as well as by advocacy organizations including the Los Angeles Country Bicycle Coalition, the Bicycle Kitchen and the Multicultural Communities for Mobility.

The City of Angels has seen implementation of is 2010 Bicycle Master Plan, which included the expansion of the bicycling network with 75 miles added just last year.

“Los Angeles is honored to be recognized by the League of American Bicyclists for our work making LA a more bike-friendly city,” said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. “From building 1,600 miles of bikeways over the next 30 years to increasing the number of bike racks in the city by 80 percent, we're making it simpler and safer for Angelenos to get around on two wheels.”

On the other side of the country Miami also earned Bronze level status as it expanded its bike path network, which includes on-street bike facilities, buffered bike lanes and a new bike parking ordinance that put hundreds of racks across the city. There has also been great support from advocacy groups including the Green Mobility Network, which helped organize bike culture events.

“The City of Miami is honored and pleased to be recognized nationally as a bicycle friendly community - but we have a long way to go before we are satisfied with the way bicycle riders are treated in our city,” said Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado. “We will continue to push for safer streets, and we realize that the closer government works with the bicycle community to improve safety and mobility, the better off everyone in Miami will be.”

Nashville, Tennessee was also noted as earning Bronze status as Mayor Karl Dean has tireless advocated active transportation with an emphasis on bicycling in order to make the city healthier and more sustainable. In 2008 Mayor Dean formed the first Nashville Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee, and has invested $7 million in bike ways, plus additional investment in greenways and other infrastructure that supports bicycling.

Other cities earning new status include:

Silver

Bonzeman, Montana

Evanston, Illinois

Venice, Florida

Bronze

Provo, Utah

Bethesda, Maryland

Hoboken, New Jersey

Richmond, Virginia

Here is the complete list of Bicycle Friendly Communitites.

Community

State

Award Level

Population

Fall 2012

Boulder

CO

Platinum

101,500

Davis

CA

Platinum

63,722

Portland

OR

Platinum

533,492

Breckenridge

CO

Gold

4,540

Corvallis

OR

Gold

53,165

Durango

CO

Gold

16,887

Eugene

OR

Gold

142,681

Fort Collins

CO

Gold

118,652

Jackson and Teton County

WY

Gold

18,251

Madison

WI

Gold

221,551

Minneapolis

MN

Gold

379,499

Missoula

MT

Gold

66,788

Palo Alto

CA

Gold

64,403

San Francisco

CA

Gold

739,426

Scottsdale

AZ

Gold

217,385

Seattle

WA

Gold

563,374

Stanford University

CA

Gold

13,315

Steamboat Springs

CO

Gold

12,088

Tucson & East Pima

AZ

Gold

512,023

Ann Arbor

MI

Silver

114,028

Arcata

CA

Silver

17,321

Arlington

VA

Silver

210,280

Aspen

CO

Silver

6,100

Austin

TX

Silver

681,804

Bellingham

WA

Silver

73,460

Bend

OR

Silver

80,995

Bloomington

IN

Silver

69,107

Boston

MA

Silver

645,169

Bozeman

MT

Silver

37,280

New

Burlington

VT

Silver

42,417

Charlottesville

VA

Silver

43,475

Carrboro

NC

Silver

18,162

Chicago

IL

Silver

2,896,016

Chico

CA

Silver

79,000

Moved Up

Claremont

CA

Silver

36,612

Moved Up

Colorado Springs

CO

Silver

360,890

Columbia

MO

Silver

102,324

Denver

CO

Silver

598,707

Evanston

IL

Silver

74,486

New

Flagstaff

AZ

Silver

57,391

Folsom

CA

Silver

63,960

Moved Up

Gainesville

FL

Silver

117,182

Gunnison

CO

Silver

5,854

Hilton Head Island

SC

Silver

33,862

La Crosse

WI

Silver

51,818

Long Beach

CA

Silver

466,520

Longmont

CO

Silver

87,461

Mountain View

CA

Silver

70,708

Moved Up

New York City

NY

Silver

8,143,197

Olympia

WA

Silver

44,460

Park City and Snyderville Basin

UT

Silver

20,671

Philadelphia

PA

Silver

1,454,382

Moved Up

Port Townsend

WA

Silver

8,334

Presidio of San Francisco

CA

Silver

3,000

Redmond

WA

Silver

49,637

Sacramento

CA

Silver

456,394

Salt Lake City

UT

Silver

181,743

San Luis Obispo

CA

Silver

43,766

Santa Barbara

CA

Silver

87,370

Santa Cruz

CA

Silver

54,593

Sisters

OR

Silver

1,925

Tempe

AZ

Silver

172,589

Venice

FL

Silver

22,146

New

Washington

DC

Silver

599,657

Wood River Valley

ID

Silver

12,506

Ada County

ID

Silver

395,974

Moved Up

Alameda

CA

Bronze

73,812

Albany

OR

Bronze

48,770

Albuquerque

NM

Bronze

448,607

Alexandria

VA

Bronze

140,024

Anchorage

AK

Bronze

284,994

Arlington

MA

Bronze

42,844

Arvada

CO

Bronze

107,050

Ashland

OR

Bronze

19,522

Asheville

NC

Bronze

83,393

Athens-Clarke County

GA

Bronze

115,000

Auburn

AL

Bronze

52,205

Bainbridge Island

WA

Bronze

20,300

Baltimore

MD

Bronze

631,000

Baton Rouge

LA

Bronze

428,360

Beaverton

OR

Bronze

79,350

Bemidji

MN

Bronze

13,431

New

Bentonville

AR

Bronze

35,301

New

Bethesda

MD

Bronze

57,319

New

Billings

MT

Bronze

100,147

Boca Raton

FL

Bronze

83,960

Brentwood

CA

Bronze

40,007

Brunswick

ME

Bronze

21,820

Calistoga

CA

Bronze

5,300

Carbondale

CO

Bronze

5,196

Carmel

IN

Bronze

70,000

Cary

NC

Bronze

119,745

Castle Rock

CO

Bronze

50,028

New

Cedar Falls

IA

Bronze

36,145

Cedar Rapids

IA

Bronze

12,6498

Chandler

AZ

Bronze

252,257

Chapel Hill

NC

Bronze

55,616

Charleston

SC

Bronze

124,000

Charlotte

NC

Bronze

648,387

Chattanooga

TN

Bronze

167,674

Cincinnati

OH

Bronze

297,000

Coeur d'Alene

ID

Bronze

41,983

Columbia

SC

Bronze

116,278

Columbus

IN

Bronze

44,061

Columbus

OH

Bronze

748,000

Concord

NH

Bronze

43,225

Conway

AR

Bronze

59,511

Cottonwood

AZ

Bronze

12,426

Cupertino

CA

Bronze

50,479

Davidson

NC

Bronze

10,300

Dayton

OH

Bronze

154,200

Decatur

GA

Bronze

19,335

New

Des Moines

IA

Bronze

203,433

Durham

NC

Bronze

212,789

Eau Claire

WI

Bronze

101,353

Emeryville

CA

Bronze

10,080

New

Fayetteville

AR

Bronze

67,158

Fitchburg

WI

Bronze

25,260

New

Fort Wayne

IN

Bronze

253,691

Franklin

PA

Bronze

7,212

Frederick

MD

Bronze

65,239

Fresno

CA

Bronze

500,121

Gilbert

AZ

Bronze

196,000

Golden

CO

Bronze

18,026

Goshen

IN

Bronze

31,719

Grand Rapids

MI

Bronze

688,937

Greater Mankato

MN

Bronze

52,703

Greensboro

NC

Bronze

258,671

Greenville

SC

Bronze

57,400

Gresham

OR

Bronze

101,537

Harrisonburg

VA

Bronze

48,814

Hoboken

NJ

Bronze

50,005

New

Houghton

MI

Bronze

8,238

Huntington Beach

CA

Bronze

202,250

Indianapolis & Marion County

IN

Bronze

872,842

Iowa City

IA

Bronze

65,219

Irvine

CA

Bronze

186,220

Juneau

AK

Bronze

30,711

Kansas City

MO

Bronze

482,228

Keene

NH

Bronze

24,769

Knoxville

TN

Bronze

177,646

Lakeland

FL

Bronze

97,422

New

Lakewood

CO

Bronze

146,000

Lansing

MI

Bronze

111,304

Las Cruces

NM

Bronze

92,235

Lawrence

KS

Bronze

88,664

Lee's Summit

MO

Bronze

92,188

New

Lewes

DE

Bronze

2,747

Lexington-Fayette County

KY

Bronze

246,800

Liberty Lake

WA

Bronze

7,270

Lincoln

NE

Bronze

258,379

Los Altos

CA

Bronze

27,483

Los Angeles

CA

Bronze

3,792,621

New

Louisville

KY

Bronze

700,030

Manhattan

KS

Bronze

52,281

Marquette

MI

Bronze

21,000

Menlo Park

CA

Bronze

30,648

Mesa

AZ

Bronze

437,454

Miami

FL

Bronze

418,480

New

Midland

MI

Bronze

41,863

New

Milwaukee

WI

Bronze

554,965

Morgantown

WV

Bronze

29,660

Napa

CA

Bronze

75,000

Naperville

IL

Bronze

128,358

Nashville-Davidson County

TN

Bronze

601,222

New

Newark

DE

Bronze

29,886

New Orleans

LA

Bronze

343,829

Norman

OK

Bronze

112,551

North Little Rock

AR

Bronze

60,433

Northampton

MA

Bronze

28,978

Oakland

CA

Bronze

365,875

Ocean City

NJ

Bronze

11,701

New

Oceanside

CA

Bronze

174,925

Omaha

NE

Bronze

408,958

Orange County

CA

Bronze

3,010,232

New

Orlando

FL

Bronze

205,648

Oxford

MS

Bronze

16,727

Pittsburgh

PA

Bronze

316,718

Portage

MI

Bronze

46,143

Provo

UT

Bronze

117,489

New

Raleigh

NC

Bronze

405,612

Redding

CA

Bronze

89,470

Reno-Sparks Washoe County

NV

Bronze

421,407

Richmond

VA

Bronze

205,533

New

Ridgeland

MS

Bronze

22,809

River Falls

WI

Bronze

15,308

New

Riverside

CA

Bronze

311,575

Roanoke

VA

Bronze

94,911

Rochester

MN

Bronze

102,437

Rochester

NY

Bronze

210,565

New

Rockville

MD

Bronze

61,209

New

Roseville

CA

Bronze

109,154

Roswell

GA

Bronze

85,920

Saint Paul

MN

Bronze

281,244

Salem

OR

Bronze

152,239

San Antonio

TX

Bronze

1,144,646

San Jose

CA

Bronze

912,332

Sanibel

FL

Bronze

6,064

Santa Clara

CA

Bronze

110,376

Santa Clarita

CA

Bronze

175,314

Santa Fe

NM

Bronze

67,947

Santa Monica

CA

Bronze

87,400

Schaumburg

IL

Bronze

73,346

Sedona

AZ

Bronze

10,192

Shawnee

KS

Bronze

57,628

Sheboygan County

WI

Bronze

115,507

Shorewood

WI

Bronze

13,267

Simsbury

CT

Bronze

23,256

Sioux Falls

SD

Bronze

154,000

Sitka

AK

Bronze

8,883

Snohomish

WA

Bronze

9,098

Sonoma

CA

Bronze

9,128

Somerville

MA

Bronze

77,478

South Bend

IN

Bronze

100,842

South Lake Tahoe

CA

Bronze

23,609

South Sioux City

NE

Bronze

11,925

South Windsor

CT

Bronze

24,409

Spartanburg

SC

Bronze

39,487

Spokane

WA

Bronze

204,428

Springfield

MO

Bronze

156,206

State College - Centre Region

PA

Bronze

92,096

Stillwater

OK

Bronze

45,688

New

St. Petersburg

FL

Bronze

249,090

Summit County Government

CO

Bronze

29,626

Sunnyvale

CA

Bronze

131,760

Tacoma

WA

Bronze

198,387

Tallahassee

FL

Bronze

176,336

The Woodlands Township

TX

Bronze

97,023

Thousand Oaks

CA

Bronze

127,644

Tybee Island

GA

Bronze

3,713

Traverse City

MI

Bronze

14,532

Tulsa

OK

Bronze

384,037

University Heights

IA

Bronze

1,051

Urbana

IL

Bronze

40,550

Vail

CO

Bronze

4,806

Vancouver

WA

Bronze

156,600

Westerville

OH

Bronze

36,120

New

West Windsor

NJ

Bronze

27,165

Wilmington

NC

Bronze

101,353

Windsor

CA

Bronze

26,801

New





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