St. Louis Park Named A Bicycle Friendly Community

The city of St. Louis Park has been recognized as a Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) at the bronze level by the League of American Bicyclists. With the announcement of 26 new and 77 renewing BFCs, St. Louis Park joins a leading group of 404 Bicycle Friendly Communities in all 50 states that are transforming neighborhoods.

St. Louis Park was part of the largest application round in the program’s 13-year history, with 140 communities applying for recognition – a 62 percent increase from the previous largest round of applicants, according to a news release.

“We applaud these communities for making bicycling a safe and convenient option for transportation and recreation,” said Bill Nesper, Vice President of Programs at the League of American Bicyclists, in a statement. “We are encouraged by the growing number of leaders who see bicycling as a way to build more vibrant, healthy, sustainable and connected communities.”

The Bronze Level BFC award recognizes St. Louis Park’s commitment to improving conditions for bicycling through investment in bicycling promotion, education programs, infrastructure and pro-bicycling policies. In 2013, the city launched Connect the Park, a ten-year program to develop a comprehensive, citywide system of sidewalks, trails and bikeways that provide local and regional connectivity, improve safety and accessibility and enhance overall community livability throughout the city.

“Connect the Park was a result of a citywide visioning process in 2007, during which St. Louis Park residents voiced their support for developing an expanded network of bicycle and pedestrian facilities,” said Deb Heiser, engineering director at St. Louis Park. “To date we’ve installed more than five miles of sidewalk, six miles of bikeways and more than 1.5 miles of trails, all of which provide safer and easier connections to schools, businesses, parks and neighboring communities.”

Since its inception, more than 800 distinct communities have applied and the five levels of the award — diamond, platinum, gold, silver and bronze — provide a clear incentive for communities to continuously improve.

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