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Community Corner

Batavia Wins National Recognition as Bicycle Friendly Community

Mayor Jeff Schielke: "We can't wait to reach platinum status."

Everyone wants to be bicycle-friendly these days. The city of Chicago is frequently touting its bicycle lanes and rewarding businesses with bike racks. Geneva's Cultural Arts Commission just spent $6,000 for a bike rack made of glass.

But Batavia is winning national awards for its bicycle friendliness.

"The Batavia Bicycle Commission and the City of Batavia are thrilled to receive a Bronze award as a Bicycle Friendly Community," said Joanne Spitz in an email to Batavia Patch.

The city of Batavia will make a formal announcement at its next City Council meeting, scheduled for Oct. 21.
 
Today, the League of American Bicyclists is announcing the latest round of Bicycle Friendly Community awards and Batavia has been named a bronze level BFC.

"Batavia is playing a critical part in creating a truly Bicycle Friendly America," said Andy Clarke, president of the League of American Bicyclists. "We know Batavia’s investment in bicycling will be returned many times over in the health, environmental, and quality of life benefits of a thriving community.”

The BFC program is transforming 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 impressive round, there are now 291 BFCs in 48 states across America. The bronze level BFC award recognizes Batavia’s commitment to improving conditions for bicycling through investment in bicycling promotion, education 
programs, infrastructure and pro-bicycling policies.

Mayor Jeffery Schielke said the community is excited about the recognition of Batavia’s efforts to promote safe bicycle use in our community.

"As the hub of the trail system in the area, it is up to us to show how bicycling can mesh with other forms of transportation to encourage healthy living and provide enjoyable recreational activity for all at modest cost," he said. "How often can a community add to the quality of life while at the same time attract 
economic development in a manner that is both efficient and environmentally 
responsible? We can’t wait to reach platinum status.”

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 then 500 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.

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