The efforts of the City of Topeka to build better places for people to bike have been honored with a Bronze-level Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) award from the League of American Bicyclists. Topeka joins 485 communities across the country in the movement for safer streets and better bicycling for everyone. The award recognizes Topeka for its commitment to creating transportation and recreational resources that benefit its residents of all ages and abilities while encouraging healthier and more sustainable transportation choices.
“During one of the toughest years in recent memory, we have seen so many Americans turn to biking during the pandemic for fun and for necessary transportation options. It’s so important that communities like Topeka have laid the groundwork over several years to make biking a safe, accessible option for people when we all need as much health and happiness as possible,” said Bill Nesper, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists. “This Bicycle Friendly Community award is the culmination of years of work put in by Topeka and its citizen advocates for better biking. This award round, Topeka joins 51 new and renewing Bicycle Friendly Communities in the movement toward healthier, more sustainable and connected places. As we turn the page on 2020 and look ahead to 2021, we’re proud that Topeka and communities like it are embracing bicycling as a solution to our collective recovery.”
The League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Friendly America program sets the standard for how communities build and benchmark progress toward making biking better. This round of awards includes 51 new and renewing awardees, joining a total of 485 current Bicycle Friendly Communities in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Bronze-level BFC award recognizes Topeka’s commitment to improving conditions for all people who bike through investments in bike education programs, regular bike events that promote and encourage people to choose biking, pro-bike policies, and bike infrastructure.
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“We are honored to be one of only five cities in Kansas with a bronze recognition which is the highest recognition in the state. Biking is a choice for some but a must for others. It’s imperative to our quality of life and economic growth that Topeka continues to advance high quality transportation choices for all citizens. The bronze award speaks to the type of dedicated people we have in this community who will not let us forget that. Even with lower stress bike lanes, an expanded trail system, more complete streets, and bike racks at businesses, there’s still a lot more work to do including bringing back bike share,” said Bill Fiander, Director of Planning and Development.
To learn more about the BFC program, visit bikeleague.org/community.
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