Transcript Slide 1
CREATING A
BICYCLE FRIENDLY
COMMUNITY
July 6, 2015
The League’s Mission
The League
promotes
bicycling for fun,
fitness, and
transportation
through advocacy
and education to
build a bicyclefriendly America.
Photo: Allan Crawford
Providing a Roadmap for a
Bicycle Friendly America
• Advocacy –
Coordination,
feedback, setting the
bar
• Education –
Benchmarking,
feedback, hands-on
assistance from staff
• Promotion – Award
designation and
media promotion
Bicycling is a Good Thing
• Economic Development
• Access
• Quality of Life
• Environment
• Sustainability
• Safety
• Health
• Equity
• Mobility
• Fiscal Constraint
Where people want to live,
work and visit • BFCs always on
best places to live,
work, study and
retire lists. (6 in
US News’ latest
Top 10)
• Mercer Int’l Quality
of Life Ranking: 7
of 8 U.S. cities are
BFCs
• Businessweek’s
Best Places to
Ride out the
Recession 17 of 20
are BFCs
What is the BFC Program
• Started in 1996 with the
BFC program
• Updated program in 2002
• 5 Award levels: Diamond,
Platinum, Gold, Silver
and Bronze
• Program recognizes
communities for bicycle
friendliness and provides
roadmap and assistance
to become better.
Application Criteria
• Engineering
• Education
• Encouragement
• Enforcement
• Evaluation &
Planning
Online application
bikeleague.org/community
Application Review
600+ applications
reviewed by
• League staff
• external reviewers
• local cyclists and
advocates
• 242+ BFCs in 47
states
Building for bicycling works
Lesson Seven
Numbers Are On Our
Side
Reaching the Interested
but Concerned
1
6
Strong and
Fearless
Confident &
enthused
Interested but
concerned
No way now how
33
60
Strong and Fearless
Strong and Fearless
Enthused and confident
Enthused and confident
Interested but concerned
Interested but concerned
Interested but concerned
Engineering
• Complete Streets approach
• Bike parking convenience
and safety
• Training for staff engineers
and planners
• Infrastructure
• On-road network, Paths
and off-road trails
• Safe intersections
• Facility maintenance
Education
• Motorists/ public
outreach
• Youth education
• Adults
• Children
• Professional
drivers, staff drivers
• Commuters
• League Cycling
Instructors
Encouragement
• National Bike Month &
Bike to Work Week
• Rides, events, incentives
to ride
• Commuter programs –
National Bike Challenge
• Bike sharing
• Bike parks, velodromes,
other recreational biking
Enforcement
• Equitable laws
• Police involvement
• Targeted enforcement
• Training for Police Officers
• Austin (Silver BFC)
Bicycling-specific officer
training
• Diversion courses
Evaluation & Planning
• Current bike plan
• Monitoring use
• Targets/Goals
• Crashes/Fatalities
• Stakeholder
involvement
• Self-awareness
Benefits of applying
We knew this recognition would be
important to our civic and business
leaders, and that the metrics set out in
the League’s application would be
important measures for us.” - Allan
Crawford, Bike Long Beach
Photo: Allan Crawford
Get started
Go to:
bikeleague.org/community
• Use BFC Scorecard for selfassessment
• Review the application and
resources yourself to see how
bicycle-friendly you are today
• Coordinate with your local bicycle
advocacy group and contact staff
for assistance
Online resource library
Bring the Biking Joy
Thank you.
Thank you.