St. Petersburg Honored As Bicycle-Friendly Community

ST. PETERSBURG, FL—The City of St. Petersburg’s effort to rack up a national reputation as a bicycle-friendly community is paying off.

On Thursday, The League of American Bicyclists awarded the city a silver-level Bicycle-Friendly Community award. St. Petersburg is the only mid-size or large city in Florida to receive the silver designation.

The BFC program helps communities assess their friendliness toward bicyclists and provides a benchmark for improvements needed to make the community more accommodating for cycling enthusiasts.

To date, more than 800 communities have applied for the designation, but only 400 have received a thumbs up from the bicycle league

In 2006, St. Petersburg received the league’s bronze-level award. Bill Nesper, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists, said the city’s new silver designation is due to its continued commitment to improving conditions and infrastructure for bicyclists, its bicycling educational programs and its pro-bicycling policies.

Among the achievements that elevated St. Petersburg’s ranking was the launch of the city’s Coast Bike Share program, hosting bike-friendly events such as Open Streets St. Pete, its work on a Complete Streets Implementation Plan that includes bicycling components and the addition of bike lanes and trails across the city, now totaling 130 miles.

"We applaud these communities for making bicycling a safe and convenient option for transportation and recreation," Nesper said. "We are encouraged by the growing number of leaders who see bicycling as a way to build more vibrant, healthy, sustainable and connected communities."

"Bicycling is good for workers, good for businesses, good for neighborhoods, good for sustainability and good for the city," said Mayor Rick Kriseman."Active transportation, and bicycling in particular, is a core element of the Healthy St Pete program that encourages citizens to live, shop, eat and play healthy. I am excited about the silver ranking, and all the additional ways we are going to keep making cycling in St. Petersburg even better in the future."

To learn more about St. Petersburg's efforts, visit stpete.org/transportation.

Image via The League of American Bicyclists