The League of American Bicyclists has again recognized Steamboat Springs with a GOLD Bicycle Friendly Community (BFCSM) award. There are 371 Bicycle Friendly Communities across the country. Steamboat Springs first received the Gold Level award in 2011 – and with this latest round of awards become one of just 24 Gold level BFC’s across the country. The City of Steamboat Springs completed the application with the assistance of Routt County Riders, Steamboat Bike Town, Routt County, Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association, and countless other bike shops, businesses and individuals.
“We applaud these communities for making bicycling a safe and convenient option for transportation and recreation,” said Bill Nesper, Vice President of Programs at the League of American Bicyclists. “We are encouraged by the growing number of leaders who see bicycling as a way to build more vibrant, healthy, sustainable and connected communities and be a part of the solution to many complex challenges faced at both the community and national levels. We look forward to continuing to work with these communities as we move closer to our mission of creating a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone.”
The BFC program is revolutionizing the way communities evaluate their quality of life, sustainability and transportation networks, while allowing them to benchmark their progress toward improving their bicycle-friendliness. With this round, there are now 371 BFCs in all 50 states. The GOLD BFC award recognizes Steamboat Springs’ commitment to improving conditions for bicycling through investment in bicycling promotion, education programs, infrastructure and pro-bicycling policies.
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.