The City of Alexandria was awarded a Bicycle Friendly Community award by the League of American Bicyclists, a national cycling advocacy organization. The award is to highlight the efforts communities take to make themselves more bike-friendly, such as by constructing bike lanes and bike parking, educating and enforcing bike safety, promoting cycling through events like Bike to Work Day, and evaluating their progress. The award is a "bronze"-level award which recognizes the accomplishes the City has taken and encourages Alexandria to become even more bike-friendly, thereby earning a silver, gold, and then platinum-level award. Places like Portland, OR, which is known for being a cyclist's paradise in the U.S., has a platinum Bicycle Friendly Community award.
Alexandria bike advocates, City staff, and elected officials celebrated their award at the recent Bike to Work Day pit stop at City Hall on May 15. Alexandria becomes the third jurisdiction in the Metropolitan Washington region to earn this award. The other communities are Arlington which has a silver award and Washington, D.C. which has bronze.
by Paul DeMaio, BikeArlington
image credit: Bruce Dwyer
I think I recognize Jayme Blakesley of the FTA in the back left.
Posted by: JRB | May 29, 2009 at 12:03 PM
Kudos to the City of Alexandria, to Alexandria Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Manager Yon Lambert, and to the tireless advocacy of many Alexandria bicyclists.
Whether Portland, Oregon is a "cyclist's paradise" or bikeway-blunder hell [http://www.labreform.org/blunders/b5.html] is a matter of serious debate.
Posted by: Allen Muchnick | May 28, 2009 at 05:22 PM