City Subscriptions

Duluth receives Bronze Bicycle Friendly Community award by the League of American Bicyclists

City of Duluth Contact: Pakou Ly, (218) 730-5309

Zeitgeist contact:  Shawna Mullen, (218) 929-1908

[Duluth, MN] - Earlier this month, the League of American Bicyclists recognized Duluth with a Bronze Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC^SM) award. The City and community members gathered this week on the Lakewalk near the Endion Station Public House pub, to accept Duluth’s award from the League. Duluth was first awarded a Bronze designation in 2013, and communities need to re-apply every four years. Our continued designation and our feedback report from the League indicate we are making progress toward furthering bicycling in our community. The community is invited to attend an informal social hour at Endion Station Public House following the media conference.

With the announcement of 6 communities moving from an Honorable Mention to Bronze, 9 communities receiving a Bronze award on their first application, and 22 renewing BFCs, Duluth is part of a group of communities, throughout the nation, that are transforming their neighborhoods. There are now 416 communities currently recognized with a BFC award for their efforts to make biking better.

Duluth has also been gaining national attention for its pursuit of constructing multi-purpose trails that connect neighborhoods along its 28-mile width. “Duluth is fortunate to draw people of all walks of life together to share an appreciation for bicycling, community health and social engagement. To know that we are among many cities in the country building stronger communities gives us hope and a healthy outlook for the future. Thank you to the League of American Bicyclists for the Bronze award recognition,” said Mayor Emily Larson.

“We applaud these communities for making improvements for people who bike in ways that build upon their existing strengths and are based upon their particular needs, whether that is infrastructure, education, or encouragement,” said Bill Nesper, Executive Director at the League of American Bicyclists. “We are encouraged by the way that communities are using bicycling as a part of their solution to issues of health, job access, traffic safety, and the environment and using our program to make progress in those issues. We look forward to continuing to work with these communities as part of our mission to build a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone.”

The BFC program provides a roadmap to building a Bicycle Friendly Community and the application itself has become a rigorous and an educational tool in itself. 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.

Each community that applies for a BFC award receives a report card. The report cards for communities that receive an award are available in the award database and communities that receive an Honorable Mention have their report card available for one year after its award. Explanations of each award level and key data from each report card are available here: http://bikeleague.org/content/building-blocks-bicycle-friendly-communities.

This event is part of Bus Bike Walk Duluth, an annual month-long community-wide celebration of biking, walking, and busing. Visit facebook.com/BusBikeWalkDuluth for complete listing of event details. Bus Bike Walk is presented by Essentia Health, maurices, Krech-Ojard Architects, MN Power, Eagle Accounting, in partnership with the City of Duluth, and hosted by the Zeitgeist Center for Arts & Community.

 # # #