Today, the League of American Bicyclists recognized the City of Plano with a bronze level Bicycle Friendly Community (BFCSM) award, joining 351 visionary communities from across the country.
With the announcement of 54 new and renewing BFCs today, Plano joins a leading group of communities, in all 50 states, that are transforming our neighborhoods.
“We applaud these communities for making bicycling a safe and convenient option for transportation and recreation,” said Bill Nesper, Vice President of Programs at the League of American Bicyclists. “We are encouraged by the growing number of leaders who see bicycling as a way to build more vibrant, healthy, sustainable and connected communities and be a part of the solution to many complex challenges faced at both the community and national levels. We look forward to continuing to work with these communities as we move closer to our mission of creating a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone.”
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 371 BFCs in all 50 states. The bronze level BFC award recognizes Plano’s commitment to improving conditions for bicycling through investment in bicycling promotion, education programs, infrastructure and pro-bicycling policies.
“Over 30 years ago, the City of Plano began planning a bicycle transportation network using a combination of recreational trails and city streets,” explained Renee Jordan, trail system planner. “Today, we have more than 70 miles of trail and 165 miles of shared on-street bicycle routes that travel through Plano and to adjacent communities.”
The BFC program provides a roadmap to building a Bicycle Friendly Community and the application itself has become a rigorous and an educational tool. Since its 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.
For more information about the BFC program, visit bikeleague.org/community.
