The League of American Bicyclists recently named Wake Forest a Bronze-level Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) making the town one of only 13 BFCs in North Carolina and one of 450 in the United States.
The five levels of the BFC award – diamond, platinum, gold, silver and bronze, plus an honorable mention category and a no designation level – provide a clear incentive for communities to continuously improve. Wake Forest attained Bronze-level status this year after earning an “honorable mention” designation in 2016.
“With each new application round, we see the growing ways that American communities are supporting and promoting bicycling as a health, economic, environmental and equity solution for their residents and visitors,” said Amelia Neptune, Director of the Bicycle Friendly America (BFA) program. “From piloting new bikeshare technology to incorporating bike safety education to elementary school curriculum, the standards for the BFA program continue to rise as our 450 awarded Bicycle Friendly Communities lead the way in innovating bicycling improvements for everyone.”
Since the Bicycle Friendly Community program’s inception over 20 years ago, more than 700 distinct communities have applied for recognition. The program provides a roadmap to building a Bicycle Friendly Community for communities of all shapes and sizes. The rigorous application process is an educational tool in itself and includes an opportunity for local bicyclists to provide input on their experiences and perceptions of bicycling in their community.
The League of American Bicyclists provides feedback and guidance to every applicant community, regardless of award designation, with the goal of helping every community to improve. Awarded communities must renew their status every four years to ensure that they not only maintain existing efforts, but also keep up with changing technology, national safety standards and community-driven best practices.
For more information, contact Transportation Planning Manager Suzette Morales at 919-435-9512 or smorales@wakeforestnc.gov.
