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Bicycle Boulevard

San Luis Obispo Goes for the Gold

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San Luis Obispo wins Gold Level Status

UPDATE: Join us at 11 a.m. on Friday April 15th, 2016 on the steps of SLO City Hall (map) for a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark and celebrate San Luis Obispo’s distinction as a Gold Bike Friendly Community. 

Today when the League of American Bicyclists updated their list of Bicycle Friendly Communities (BFC) there was great news for the people of SLO. The City of San Luis Obispo, which was previously designated as a Silver level BFC, has earning the next highest designation, that of Gold.

“Bike SLO County couldn’t be more excited to hear the news that SLO was designated as a Gold Bike Friendly Community BFC Chartthis morning.” said Dan Rivoire, Executive Director of Bike SLO County. “As we join three other Gold Level cities in California and twenty-three Gold Level cities throughout the US, people in our City and County are starting to really realize how awesome it is that our community is building safer streets for everyone. Today, we’re feeling especially proud of our hard work and evermore thankful to local residents, supporters, and city staff that are getting new bike friendly projects on every passing month.”

According to Rivoire “California has 55 Bicycle Friendly Communities, 4 of which are in San Luis Obispo County. This means that a little over 7% of the Bicycle Friendly Communities in California are in SLO County. That is great news for SLO County and we hope to see the numbers grow in the coming years. We already have The City of SLO (Gold), Paso Robles (Bronze), Arroyo Grande (Bronze) and Morro Bay (Bronze). We look forward to continued work with other cities throughout the County to make SLO County even more bike friendly.”

“Winning a Bicycle Friendly Community designation shows a community’s dedication to creating safer and better places to ride your bike.” said Alex Doty, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists.

What is a Bicycle Friendly Community?

A BFC welcomes bicyclists by providing safe accommodations for bicycling and encouraging people to bike for transportation and recreation. Making bicycling safe and convenient are keys to improving public health, reducing traffic congestion, improving air quality and improving quality of life.

The BFC program provides a roadmap for building a Bicycle Friendly Community. Since the 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. Communities complete a 100+ question application, which is then reviewed by national experts as well as members of their local cycling community. All applicants receive extensive feedback. Communities must renew their designation every four years. (*There are currently no communities at the Diamond level.)

To apply or learn more about the BFC program, visit bikeleague.org/community.

Bike Fashion Show 2015

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Fill out my online form.

Bike Fashion Show 2015: Fly. Wheels. Riding. Heels.

Paso Robles Named Bicycle Friendly Community

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Paso_BFCWe’re thrilled to be a part of the process of naming Paso Robles an official Bronze Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists!

With this, the League’s most recent round of designations, there are now 259 BFCs in 47 states across the country. The Bronze Level  award recognizes Paso Robles’s commitment to improving bicycling with investments in the promotion of bicycles, education programs, infrastructure and policies.

This is just one more example of your Bicycle Coalition being hard at work making all of SLO County better for bicycles. Horray for another step forward for a bicycle friendly SLO County!

To help the Bicycle Coalition continue to do amazing things countywide, become a member. The more members we have, the stronger our ability is to advocate and achieve victories like this, we couldn’t do it without you!

You can read more about Paso Roble’s Bronze Level BFC designation in the Paso Robles Daily News here.

Advocacy Alert

SLO Named Silver Bike Friendly Community

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The League of American Bicyclists recently gave San Luis Obispo the distinction of being a SILVER Bicycle Friendly Community!

The BFC award recognizes City of San Luis Obispo’s commitment to improving conditions for bicycling through investment in bicycling promotion, education programs, infrastructure and pro-bicycling policies. The BFC judges were particularly impressed with San Luis Obispo’s partnership with the Coalition, free bicycle education workshops, increases in the mileage of bicycle facilities, offerings of bicycle parking, a strong community bicycle culture, and many more.

“We are proud of the roadmap that the Bicycle Friendly Community program provides and how San Luis Obispo is using it to build a Silver Level BFC,” said Bill Nesper, Director of the League’s Bicycle Friendly America program. “We are inspired by the tireless efforts of individuals and groups, from everyday cyclists to city leaders to build great communities for bicycling.”

The application to become a BFC is rigorous and an educational tool in itself; only 190 of the 490 total applicants received a BFC four-year designation.

Special thanks to everyone in the City staff and residents who help make San Luis Obispo a great place to bike. Next step: another SLO County city on the BFC list!

You can read a little bit more about the announcement from KSBY here.