Arvada Receives Bike Friendly Community Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE           

September 29, 2008    

For more information, contact:

Maria VanderKolk, Assistant to the City Manager

(720) 898-7507; (303) 994-6005 (cell), maria-v@arvada.org

ARVADA RECEIVES BICYCLE FRIENDLY COMMUNITY AWARD

Arvada, CO . . . . The League of American Bicyclists has confirmed what area bicyclists have known for a while:  Arvada is a Bicycle Friendly Community.

The prestigious, four-year designation of Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) was presented to just 10 of the 51 cities that applied during the fall application cycle.  The City of Arvada received a bronze award for outstanding efforts to integrate bicycling into the community. 

BFCs are recognized for their high levels of bicycle use and demonstrated commitment to improving conditions for all types of riders, from the commuter cyclist to the recreational cyclist.  BFCs enjoy quality of life benefits to which many other communities aspire.

This designation is one with real meaning.  It is difficult to earn and improvements must be made to the system before each four year renewal.  These improvements would include:  adding asphalt shoulders to collector streets which will allow bike lanes to be striped, more educational components for bicyclists, and improving our north/south links to the system.  When improvements are sufficient, the community may move to the next award level (award levels are designated as bronze, silver, gold, and platinum).  There are now 96 awarded communities in 32 states.

This award was brought about by a concerted effort and many hours of hard work by City staff, citizen advisors, Bike Jeffco, and the entire Arvada community.  Arvada was specifically noted for its 189 miles of off-street facilities and 74 miles of on-street facilities, and the fact that 50% of our arterial streets have bike lanes for cyclists.

The League of American Bicyclists promotes bicycling for fun, fitness, and transportation, and works through advocacy and education for a bicycle-friendly America. The League represents the interests of 57 million American cyclists, including its 300,000 members and affiliates.  For more information log on to www.bikeleague.org.

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