Walk Friendly Communities and Bicycle Friendly Universities programs up & running--will your community apply?

Bicycle Friendly Communities has been an important national program that helps communities move towards the goal of better accommodating bicyclists.

More recently, the Bicycle Friendly Business program has taken off.

Now two related programs extend this idea: Walk Friendly Communities and Bicycle Friendly Universities.

Is it time for Missouri communities and universities to work towards these designations?

Walk Friendly Communities

Walk Friendly Communities is a national recognition program developed to encourage towns and cities across the U.S. to establish or recommit to a high priority for supporting safer walking environments. The WFC program will recognize communities that are working to improve a wide range of conditions related to walking, including safety, mobility, access, and comfort.

More info or apply.

Bicycle Friendly Universities

Officially launched at the Pro-Walk/Pro-Bike conference in September, the BFU program promotes active and sustainable colleges and universities.  The college campus is an ideal setting for bicycling and a natural fit for reaching institutional sustainability, health and livability goals.  This program will guide schools to becoming more bicycle-friendly and award those with strong bike programs and infrastructure.

 

Thus, we are excited to announce the release of the BFU online application. We can’t wait to hear about bicycling on campuses around the country from the first round of applicants.  You can find the application at:https://bicyclefriendly.secure-platform.com/a

We encourage applicants to refer to the BFU resources page for technical assistance as you fill out the application and theBicycle Friendly University webpage for more information on the program.  The first deadline for the program is January 21, 2011 and the second deadline of the year is July 22, 2011.   For any further questions or help getting started, contact the League at BFA@bikeleague.org or 202-822-1333.

More info or apply.

Missouri currently has three communities officially recognized under the Bicycle Friendly Communities program (Columbia, Springfield, and St Louis) with a fourth (Lee's Summit) recently receiving Honorable Mention. Missouri currently has eight businesses recognized under  the Bicycle Friendly Business program (full listing here). Missouri is currently ranked 28th of the 50 states in the Bicycle Friendly State program.

Creating Bicycle and Walk Friendly Communities is one of the most important goals in MoBikeFed's Vision for Bicycling and Walking in Missouri.