Minneapolis receives gold level 'Bicycle Friendly Community' designation

The League of American Bicyclists announced the latest round of Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) designations to kick off May as National Bike Month.

Twenty one communities received awards out of 45 new applicants. Minneapolis, Minnesota, earned a gold-level award, the highest award of this round.

"We are thrilled to see Minneapolis reach a gold level Bicycle Friendly Community designation," said Bill Nesper, director of the League's Bicycle Friendly America Program. "The city's great investments in bike lanes, bicycling safety education and encouragement programs have paid off for its residents. In fact, communities across the country are now looking at Minneapolis as a model."

Under the leadership of Mayor R.T. Rybak, Minneapolis was first designated a silver-level BFC in May 2008. "We've made a deliberate effort to be one of the nation's top bicycling cities, and those investments mean we have more and more ways for people to commute and experience the city on two wheels," Rybak said.

Thanks to the city's efforts, Minneapolis has doubled its number of bicycle commuters over the last nine years, placing it behind only Portland, Oregon, among the largest cities in the U.S.­- no small feat for a city with notoriously harsh winters.