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
Array