City of Sonoma Recognized As Bicycle Friendly Community

Editor's Note: The following report is a press release of the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition.

Washington, DC - October 20, 2009 – The League of American Bicyclists is proud to announce the City of Sonoma as one of our prestigious bronze-level Fall 2009 Bicycle Friendly Communities. “The League is proud to award the City of Sonoma for its work to promote bicycle safety and education while encouraging bicycling in their community,” said League President Andy Clarke. “The League congratulates the City of Sonoma and all of our BFC winners for implementing successful, long-term bicycle plans that provide quality of life improvements for their citizens.” The League is recognizing 15 new Bicycle Friendly Communities and three BFC renewals in its fall 2009 award cycle.

 The BFC award recognizes the City of Sonoma’s commitment to improving conditions for bicycling and its practice of making focused investment in bicycling programs and facilities. The BFC judges were particularly impressed with the City of Sonoma’s dedication to implement its Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan that the City Council adopted in October, 2008. Clarke noted the impressive advances of all BFC applicants and said, “This round of applications had more communities in the east and Midwest than ever before that are investing wisely in bicycling – all areas of the U.S. are realizing the importance of bicycling.” 

An awards ceremony for the City of Sonoma will take place at the Grinstead Amphitheater located in the Plaza on Thursday, November 5th at 4 p.m. The City of Sonoma and the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition will host a ceremony to celebrate the Bicycle Friendly designation. The public is invited to attend and is encourage to bicycle to the event.

The City of Sonoma is a stand-out community in California for its initiative and progress to become more bicycle-friendly. The BFC’s reviewers were impressed with the City’s strong community support for bicycling and the fact that eighteen of the City’s thirty-six proposed bikeways and project priorities indentified in the Sonoma Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan are currently in the process of being installed.

The award comes just one year after, at the first annual Sonoma/Springs Bicycle Festival in Depot Park when former Mayor Joanne Sanders and Mayor Brown both committed to applying for the award. 

“The staff of the City of Sonoma worked diligently to acquire this wonderful award,” says the City’s Mayor, Ken Brown. “This further proves that the City of Sonoma is truly committed to creating a bicycle friendly community in Sonoma.”

“Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition commends the City of Sonoma for its commitment to creating better facilities for bike riders,” says the organization’s Executive Director, Christine Culver. “As the first City in the County to receive the League’s certification under its new criteria, Sonoma is leading the way.  We’re thrilled that the City’s leadership wants to continue working toward a platinum certification.” 

The BFC program is revolutionizing the way states and communities evaluate their quality of life, sustainability and transportation networks, while allowing them to benchmark their progress and work toward improving their bicycle-friendliness. The application process to become a BFC is rigorous; currently only 124 of the 318 total applicants have a BFC four-year designation. The renewal process and four levels of the award – platinum, gold, silver and bronze – provide a clear incentive for communities to continuously improve. The new and expanded BFC program began at the League in 1995, and in the past 14 years it has evolved into the tool it is today – evaluating, recognizing and improving cities, states and businesses. 

The BFC program is generously supported by program partners Bikes Belong <http://www.bikesbelong.org/>  and Trek's One World Two Wheels Campaign <http://www.1world2wheels.org/> . Applicants complete a detailed on-line form with numerous questions in five key areas: engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement, and evaluation/planning. Local cyclists, national experts, and League staff review the applications.

To learn more about the League’s Bicycle Friendly Community program, visit http://www.bicyclefriendlyamerica.org <http://www.bicyclefriendlyamerica.org/> . 

The League of American Bicyclists promotes bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation, and works through advocacy and education for a bicycle-friendly America. The League represents the interests of America's 57 million bicyclists, including its 300,000 members and affiliates. For more information or to support the League, visit www.bikeleague.org