From a press release:
The City of Urbana is proud to announce that we have been named a Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) by the League of American Bicyclists. Andy Clarke, League President, said “Communities from all areas of the country, climates and populations see bicycling as an integral component of building livable communities. The Bicycle Friendly Community program is recognizing those leading the way.”
Receiving Bicycle Friendly Community recognition was a goal of the Urbana Bicycle Master Plan as well as an Urbana City Council and Mayor goal. The City of Urbana recognizes that Bicycle Friendly Communities are places with a high quality of life, where people want to live, work, and visit. Building such a community can translate into a more connected, physically active, and environmentally sustainable community that enjoys increased property values, business growth, increased tourism, and more transportation choices for citizens.
The application process to become a Bicycle Friendly Community is rigorous. The BFC application provides a comprehensive picture of a community by asking questions across five categories often referred to as the Five Es – Engineering, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, and Evaluation & Planning. A community must demonstrate achievements in each of the five categories in order to be considered for an award. Currently only 140 of the 359 total applicants have a BFC four-year designation. Urbana was the only city in the state of Illinois to receive BFC status this round and is the first downstate city to receive recognition (Chicago, Naperville and Schaumburg are BFCs).
Congrats to the City of Urbana (as well as to local advocacy group Champaign County Bikes) for this achievement.