UConn Campus Joins Mansfield With 'Bicycle Friendly' Designation

STORRS, CT — The University of Connecticut campus has joined the town of Mansfield with a state "bicycle friendly" designation.

UConn officials Thursday said the school has been named among a group of higher education institutions nationwide to receive a "Bicycle Friendly University" status for the first time. It's a designation that recognizes the school's efforts to "support and encourage bicycling as a healthy, environmentally friendly transportation option."

The League of American Bicyclists bestows the designation annually on colleges and universities and UConn is among six to achieve it for the first time. In total, there are 221 colleges and universities recognized with the designation nationwide.

A total of 10 Connecticut municipalities hold the bike friendly designation, including Mansfield and a pair of other UConn hosts — Hartford, and Farmington.

A coalition of cross-campus and Mansfield-area community partners has been working on securing the bike friendly University designation for UConn Storrs since the Town of Mansfield received its first recognition in 2017, which was recently renewed.

The designation also complements UConn’s Active Transportation Plan, which was developed in 2022 to make on-campus movement more friendly to pedestrians and bicyclists, environmentally conscious, and accessible to people with all types of mobility needs.