Large US cities continue to achieve bicycle friendly status from the League of American Bicyclists as Los Angeles, Nashville and Miami received the honor this week.
The latest round comprised 26 cities that entered the list — 23 at the lowest level (bronze) and three at the next higher level, silver. In all, the League has named 242 cities in 48 states as bicycle-friendly communities. See bicycle-friendly community map.
The recent US Census results show why it’s important for the largest US cities to accept bicycle-friendly policies. The League found that bicycle commuting rates grew by 80% in the largest bicycle-friendly communities over a 10-year period, while growing only 32% in big cities that aren’t considered bicycle friendly.
The League touted the bicycle friendly atmospheres in Los Angeles, Miami and Nashville in a press release.
To be considered a bicycle-friendly community, the city or county must put in place policies and are judged in five categories: engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement and evaluation & planning. See details at “What are the 5 E’s?”
The new bicycle-friendly communities named by the League of American Bicyclists are:
- Bozeman, MT
- Evanston, IL
- Venice, FL
Bronze:
- Bemidji, MN
- Bentonville, AR
- Bethesda, MD
- Castle Rock, CO
- Decatur, GA
- Emeryville, CA
- Fitchburg, WI
- Hoboken, NJ
- Lakeland, FL
- Lee’s Summit, MO
- Los Angeles, CA
- Nashville, TN
- Miami, FL
- Midland, MI
- Ocean City, NJ
- Orange County, CA
- Provo, UT
- Richmond, VA
- River Falls, WI
- Rochester, NY
- Rock Hill, SC
- Rockville, MD
- Stillwater, OK
- Westerville, OH
- Windsor, CA
Renewals
Meanwhile, the League renewed the bicycle-friendly status of 19 communities. Cities that became more bicycle friendly by moving up from bronze to silver are:
Ada County, ID
Chico, CA
Claremont, CA
Folsom, CA
Mountain View, CA
Philadelphia, PA
Cities that maintained their current bicycle friendly status are:
Boulder, CO- Platinum
Madison, WI- Gold
Bellingham, WA- Silver
Albuquerque, NM- Bronze
Brunswick, ME- Bronze
Charlotte, NC- Bronze
Coeur d’Alene, ID- Bronze
Oceanside, CA- Bronze
Orlando, FL- Bronze
Salem, OR- Bronze
Simsbury, CT- Bronze
South Bend, IN- Bronze
St. Petersburg, FL- Bronze
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