Do You Cycle Around Waltham? How Is It?

WALTHAM, MA — Waltham is making progress when it comes to being a bicycle friendly community, but it could do better. (Much better depending on who you talk with). After getting an honorable mention last year from the state's bicycle friendly designations, the city says it wants to up its game and earn a medal.

"The City of Waltham is very proud to have received an Honorable Mention in 2016; however, we want to achieve at least a Bronze Bicycle Friendly Community designation in 2017," said the city in release.

But the question is; how to get a better designation? That's where the community comes in.

Waltham applied again to be considered a Bicycle Friendly Community award from the League of American Bicyclists, and now the city and the league are asking anyone who cycles around the city to consider filling out a little online survey. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BFC_FA17_WalthamMA

The questions are geared toward those who ride how often you ride and for what reasons people ride. Presumably the more cyclists fill out the form, the better chances the city has to get a better designation.

All survey responses must be completed before September 30 for consideration with the City’s LAB application.

The Bicycle Friendly Community program was created in 1995, with the aim of providing a roadmap to improving conditions for bicycling and guidance to help make a community's vision for a better, bikeable community a reality. Since it began staff have processed more than 1,200 community applications to get the special designation. Some 415 communities around the state are recognized as a "Bicycle Friendly Community." Add to that a little more than 100 Honorable Mention communities.

Arlington, Newton, and Brookline all have achieved Bronze status and are working on upping their game as well.

Curious how Waltham did last year? Check out its report card:

Photo by Jenna Fisher/Patch Staff