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Minneapolis goes gold and Eau Claire makes the list of bicycle friendly communities

Posted by Tom Held of the Journal Sentinel on May 3, 2011

cycling

Eau Claire won a bronze ranking and Onalaska an honorable mention in the latest Bicycle Friendly Community awards from the League of American Cyclists.

The two cities in western Wisconsin join Madison, La Crosse and Milwaukee among the Badger state representatives recognized for promoting bicycling. Madison is one of 11 cities in the country to receive a gold designation. Milwaukee and La Crosse have bronze.

Minneapolis joined the gold group in the latest rankings issued by the League.

"The city’s great investments in bike lanes, bicycling safety education, and encouragement programs have paid off for its residents, said Bill Nesper, director of the League’s Bicycle Friendly America Program. "In fact, communities across the country are now looking at Minneapolis as a model.”

Minneapolis has doubled its number of bicycle commuters over the last nine years, placing it behind only Portland, Ore., among the largest cities in the U.S.