EAST LANSING, Mich. – Today, the League of American Bicyclists recognized the City of East Lansing with a Bronze Bicycle Friendly Community (BFCSM) award.
East Lansing was part of the largest application round in the BFC program’s 13-year history. In total, 140 communities applied for recognition – a 62 percent increase from the previous largest round of applicants.
With the announcement of 26 new and 77 renewing BFCs today, East Lansing joins a leading group of communities, in all 50 states, that are transforming neighborhoods. There are now 404 communities currently recognized for their efforts to make biking better with a BFC award.
“In this largest BFC round ever, we are excited to see the number of communities that have improved since their last application,” said Ken McLeod, State & Local Policy Manager at the League of American Bicyclists. Four communities who were previously awarded improved their award level, six moved from no award to an Honorable Mention and 22 communities moved from an Honorable Mention to a Bronze BFC award. “The growth in our BFC program reflects great progress in our mission to create a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone. It is incredible to see the diversity of communities that applied, the communities that have been involved with the BFC program for years and the grassroots efforts to improve conditions for bicycling throughout the United States of America.”
“We applaud these communities for making bicycling a safe and convenient option for transportation and recreation,” said Bill Nesper, Vice President of Programs 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 Bronze BFC award recognizes East Lansing’s commitment to improving conditions for bicycling through investment in bicycling promotion, education programs, infrastructure and pro-bicycling policies. The BFC program provides a benchmark for communities to evaluate these conditions and policies, while highlighting areas for improvement. The national scope of the program also promotes competition and comparison between communities - with 404 currently recognized BFCs, there is always a model community to be found.
“We are honored to be recognized as a Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists and would like to thank the East Lansing Transportation Commission for its work in helping us achieve this new designation,” said East Lansing City Councilmember Shanna Draheim. “We are continuing to work to improve bicycle friendliness in the East Lansing community, most recently with the addition of more than two miles of new bike lanes on either side of Harrison Road as part of this past summer’s major street project. Moving forward, we hope to improve upon our BFC ranking by continuing to grow our bicycle network mileage and continuing to implement the guidelines and proposed policies outlined in our Non-Motorized Transportation Plan.”
The BFC program provides a roadmap to building a Bicycle Friendly Community and the application itself has become a rigorous and an educational tool in itself. Since its inception, more than 800 distinct communities have applied and the five levels of the award — diamond, platinum, gold, silver and bronze — provide a clear incentive for communities to continuously improve.
Visit www.bikeleague.org/community to learn more about the BFC program.
About the Bicycle Friendly America Program
The Bicycle Friendly Community, Bicycle Friendly State, Bicycle Friendly Business and Bicycle Friendly University programs are generously supported by program partner Planet Bike. To learn more about building a Bicycle Friendly America, visit www.bikeleague.org/BFA.
The League of American Bicyclists is leading the movement to create a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone. As leaders, the league’s commitment is to listen and learn, define standards and share best practices to engage diverse communities and build a powerful, unified voice for change.