The League of American Bicyclists on Tuesday recognized The City of Chattanooga with a Silver level Bicycle Friendly Community award, joining more than 325 visionary communities from across the country.
With the announcement of 55 new and renewing BFCs today, Chattanooga joins a leading group of communities, in all 50 states, that are transforming neighborhoods.
“Visionary community leaders are recognizing the real-time and long term impact that a culture of bicycling can create,” said Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists. “We applaud this new round of communities for investing in a more sustainable future for the country and a healthier future for their residents and beyond.”
The BFC program is revolutionizing the way communities evaluate their quality of life, sustainability and transportation networks, while allowing them to benchmark their progress toward improving their bicycle-friendliness. With this impressive round, there are now 326 BFCs in all 50 states. This year’s move up from Bronze to a Silver BFC award recognizes Chattanooga’s commitment to improving conditions for bicycling through investment in bicycling promotion, education programs, infrastructure and pro-bicycling policies.
“Chattanooga’s designation as a Silver community is the outcome of our comprehensive approach to transportation, including the recent Complete Streets Ordinance as well as initiatives like our first protected bike lanes and a new neighborhood greenway in one of our city’s most historic neighborhoods,” said Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke. “Studies show that residents want multimodal transportation investments. By planning and designing new and future transportation projects with all users in mind, including cyclists, we can ensure residents and visitors alike have more access to Chattanooga’s vibrant downtown, beautiful outdoors, and well-connected neighborhoods.”
Since the BFC program’s inception, more than 800 distinct communities have applied and the five levels of the award – diamond, platinum, gold, silver and bronze – provide a clear incentive for communities to continuously improve.
Chattanooga’s move up from Bronze to a Silver BFC will include a public unveiling of Chattanooga’s new Silver Bicycle Friendly Community sign in the next few weeks. Contact the Chattanooga Department of Transportation to be part of this upcoming event.
To apply or learn more about the BFC program, visit bikeleague.org/community.