Our state has increased our number of Bicycle Friendly Communities by a third!

Last month, the League of American Bicyclists announced the latest Bicycle Friendly Communities (BFC’s) awards, including new “Bronze” designations for Glenview, Oak Park, and Warrenville and a renewed “Silver” award for Chicago.

Other BFC’s from Illinois: Urbana (Gold); Evanston (Silver); Batavia, Champaign, Elmhurst, Naperville, Normal and Schaumburg (Bronze).

In May, the League of American Bicyclists released its state rankings with our state being ranked 14th.

Neutral Cycle, in Champaign, was designated a Gold level Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB) by LAB in April. There are now a total of 18 Illinois businesses designated as BFB’s, employing more than 3,300 people.

Additionally, the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, University of Illinois at Chicago and Illinois Wesleyan University have earned Bicycle Friendly University designations.

The Bicycle Friendly America program provides incentives, hands-on assistance, and award recognition for communities, universities and businesses that actively support bicycling, and ranks states annually based on their level of bike-friendliness. More information on the Bicycle Friendly America program is available on the League of American Bicyclists website.