As many of you know, Lincoln is currently a Bicycle Friendly Community at the Silver level from the League of American Cyclists. We all know Lincoln is a good place to ride, but it could be better. What would it take to become a Gold level Bicycle Friendly Community? As a city, we are renewing our application to be a bicycle friendly community and one part of that process is a public survey that will be open until October 20. Please take 10 or so minutes to provide valuable feedback to the League and to Lincoln about what you consider to be our strengths and weaknesses. Poking around the League’s website can give you insight as to what other cities are doing well, and what we could do better.
Evaluation criteria is based on the “5 Es”, categories that consistently create great places to bike:
Equity & Accessibility: A Bicycle Friendly America for Everyone
Engineering: Creating safe and convenient places to ride and park
Education: Giving people of all ages and abilities the skills and confidence to ride
Encouragement: Creating a strong bike culture that welcomes and celebrates bicycling
Evaluation & Planning: Planning for bicycling as a safe and viable transportation option
On their website you can delve into what each of these “E” categories involves.
Apart from the bicycle friendly community, there are also designations for bicycle friendly businesses, bicycle friendly universities, and bicycle friendly states, (still sitting at #49 here, folks) Read what put us at this ranking and what we can do to improve it.
Do you want to commute by bike but have concerns? Check out this graphic, it may help, and don’t forget your lights:
