FLAGSTAFF — The League of American Bicyclists has honored the efforts of Flagstaff to build better places for people to bike with a Silver-level Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) award. The award recognizes Flagstaff for its commitment to creating transportation and recreational resources that benefit residents of all ages and abilities while encouraging a variety of transportation choices.
Courtesy photos.
The League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Friendly America program sets the standard for how communities build and benchmark progress toward making biking better. The Silver BFC award acknowledges Flagstaff’s investments in bike education programs, regular bike events that promote and encourage people to choose biking, and bike infrastructure.
Achieving a Bicycle Friendly Community status was a goal from the formal inception of the City’s Bicycle Advisory Committee in 2006. Flagstaff benefits from involved citizens that desire affordable transportation options that are good for our environment. Our community currently enjoys 57 miles of Flagstaff Urban Trail System (FUTS) and over 98 miles of on-street bike facilities. As outlined in the Active Transportation Master Plan, the City aims to complete its bikeway network, create more transportation options such as FUTS and buffered/protected/separated bike lanes, and continue collaboration with community partners such as MetroPlan to provide education and programmatic elements to further support bicycling in Flagstaff.
Over 900 communities have applied for recognition by the Bicycle Friendly Community program, which provides a roadmap to making biking better for communities of all shapes and sizes. While the award process considers very visible elements such as bike infrastructure, other essential elements include adult and youth bike education, events like Bike to Work Day, and evaluation mechanisms. The rigorous application process is an educational tool in itself and includes an opportunity for local bicyclists and active transportation advocates to provide input on their experiences and perceptions of bicycling in their community.
To learn more about the BFC program, visit bikeleague.org/community
