The League of American Bicyclists: Creating a Bicycle Friendly America

1
The League of American Bicyclists Creating a
Bicycle Friendly America
Community by Community
2
Campaign Partners
www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org
3
What is the BFC Program?

• Started in 1996 with simple criteria
• Revised in 2002
• 4 Award levels
• Platinum
• Gold
• Silver
• Bronze

4
Application Criteria

• Engineering
• Education
• Encouragement
• Evaluation Planning
• Enforcement

5
Application Review

• 140 applications
• Reviewed by staff and external reviewer
• Feedback from local cyclists and advocates

6
Designated Communities

• Platinum
• Davis, CA
• Gold
• Boulder, CO
• Corvallis, OR
• Madison, WI
• Palo Alto, CA
• Portland, OR
• San Francisco, CA
• Tucson region, AZ

• Silver
• Bellingham, WA
• Chicago, IL
• Eugene, OR
• Folsom, CA
• Fort Collins, CO
• Gainesville, FL
• Jackson, WY
• Olympia, WA
• Santa Barbara, CA
• Scottsdale, AZ
• Stanford, CA
• Tempe, AZ

7
Bronze Communities

• Arlington, VA
• Beaverton, OR
• Bloomington, IN
• Boca Raton, FL
• Brentwood, CA
• Brunswick, ME
• Carmel, IN
• Cary, NC
• Chattanooga, TN
• Flagstaff, AZ
• Gilbert, AZ
• Louisville, KY
• Mesa, AZ
• Milwaukee, WI
• Presidio, CA
• San Jose, CA
• Schaumburg, IL
• Shawnee, KS
• Sunnyvale, CA

• Ada County, ID
• Albuquerque, NM
• Ann Arbor, MI
• Ashland, OR
• Auburn, AL
• Bend, OR
• Burlington,VT
• Carrboro, NC
• Chandler, AZ
• Chico, CA
• Denver, CO
• Lawrence, KS
• Longmont, CO
• Mountain View, CA
• Orlando, FL
• Redmond, WA
• Roswell, GA
• South Sioux City, NE
• Vancouver, WA

8
Bikes Health, Wealth, Freedom

• Economic Development
• Community Development
• Health
• Environment
• Energy
• Transportation
• Recreation

9
Benefits of the BFC Program

• Recognition
• Promotion
• Benchmarking
• Technical help
• Inspiration

10
First Platinum Davis
11
First Downgrade Denver
12
First Regional Award
East Pima Region, AZ
13
Program Adoption
Wisconsin
Louisville, KY
14
Go Platinum Portland!
15
Portland Key Numbers

• Population 530,000, 1.6 bike to work
• City bicycle network 260 miles
• Bicycling to work doubled 1990-2000
• (U.S. Census)
• Crashes remained steady rate fell
• One bike shop per 36,000 population (metro area)

16
BFC Success!
17
Chicago

• City of 3 million with 150 mile network of lanes
  and trails 0.5 bike commute share one bike shop
  per 58,000 population (metro area)
• Has added 10,000 bike racks and built Millennium
  Park Bike Station (3 million)
• 17,000 cyclists ride Bike the Drive starting
  Sunday Parkways (a la Bogota).
• Also famous for Mayor Daleys bicycling
  ambassadors, educational materials, new complete
  streets policy, safe routes to school program,
  Chicagoland Bicycle Federation

18

• Chicago 2015 Plan goals
• 500-mile network
• 5 of all trips five miles or less made by bike
• Reduce bicyclist injuries by 50

19
Inspiring Change Louisville, Ky

• City of 1 million. 0.2 bike to work.
• Mayors Metro Louisville Bike Summit (Feb. 05)
  due to unhealthy populace, uncompetitive quality
  of life.
• One bike shop per 113,000 population among worst
  cities in the nation for participation in
  physical activity

Goal to be Bronze BFC by 2008, Gold by 2014
20
Louisville

• Since Feb. 05
• Raised 53 million for 21st Century Parks trail
  initiative from local donors, SAFETEA-LU
• Striped first 8 miles of downtown bike lanes
• Mayor hosted Memorial and Labor Day rides
• 20,000 grant for bike education classes, LCI
  training in 2006
• Adopting complete streets policy this winter
• Mayor will receive Bronze award at 2007 National
  Bike Summit two years ahead of schedule!

21
Inspiring Change Carmel, Ind

• City of 70,000 with 0.1 journey to work
• BFC application in 2003 rejected. Re-applied each
  year
• 2004 first bike lanes striped (2 miles)
• Community bike ride started with 1,000 riders in
  04, grew to 2,000 in 05
• Passed bike parking ordinance 2005
• Hosted LCI training 2006
• Approved 6.3 million bond funding, local match
  for trails
• Hired bike coordinator improved trail/roadway
  intersections promoted trail use for special
  events, community activities
• Awarded Bronze BFC in September 2006.

22
Comparing Communities

• Eleven good and bad communities picked total
  population of each group is approx. 25 million.
  Compared several variables to reveal
• BFC has one shop per 36,000 people non-BFC has
  one shop per 78,000 people
• Average journey to work four times higher in BFC
  (0.8 compared to 0.2)
• Significantly higher physical activity rates
• 25 less air pollution related deaths
• Caveat not a scientific or peer reviewed study!

23
What Do BFCs Have?

• Commitment to action
• Action Plan
• Targets, measures
• Network of all facilities
• Complete Streets policy
• Breadth of programs
• People riding bikes!