Last week, Peachtree City joined more than 325 visionary communities from across the country by being named a Bicycle Friendly Community (BFCSM) award. The League of American Bicyclists gave the master-planned city a bronze level BFC designation on Nov. 18.
With the announcement of 55 new and renewing BFC this year, Peachtree City joins a leading group of communities, in all 50 states, that are transforming our neighborhoods. Georgia currently has seven other BFCs: Roswell, Tybee Island, Athens/Clarke County, Decatur, Jecyll Ilsand, Savannah, and Milledgeville, said city Public Information Officer Betsy Tyler.
“Visionary community leaders are recognizing the real-time and long term impact that a culture of bicycling can create,” said Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists. “We applaud this new round of communities for investing in a more sustainable future for the country and a healthier future for their residents and beyond.”
Tyler said the BFC program is revolutionizing the way communities evaluate their quality of life, sustainability and transportation networks, while allowing them to benchmark their progress toward improving their bicycle-friendliness. With this impressive round, there are now 326 BFCs in all 50 states.
“The bronze level BFC award recognizes Peachtree City’s commitment to improving conditions for bicycling through investment in bicycling promotion, education programs, infrastructure and pro-bicycling policies,” said Tyler.
Tyler said representatives from the local cycling groups that worked with the city to obtain the BFC designation attended the Nov. 20 City Council meeting when Peachtree City Mayor Vanessa Fleisch announced the award. Those groups include the SouthSide Cycling Club, the Peachtree City BMX Association, Ladies on Spokes and the Peachtree City Tri-Club.
“Peachtree City may be known for our 10,000 golf carts, but we probably have just as many bicycles sharing our roads and our 90-mile path system,” Fleisch said. ”This recognition is a great start in ensuring that cyclists remain safe as they enjoy our beautiful community.”
Tyler said the BFC program provides a roadmap to building a Bicycle Friendly Community and the application itself has become a rigorous and an educational tool in itself. 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.
