The League of American Bicyclists honored the efforts of the City of Portage to build better places for people to bike with a Silver-level Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) award. The City of Portage joins 497 communities across the country in the movement for safer streets and better bicycling for everyone. The award recognizes the City of Portage for its commitment to creating transportation and recreational resources that benefit its residents of all ages and abilities while encouraging healthier and more sustainable transportation choices.
Biking transforms cities into an environmentally conscious and healthy community and the City of Portage has laid the groundwork for years to make biking a safe, accessible option for all. With many more residents turning to biking as a fun way to get outdoors and as a necessary transportation option, it is important that we continue to build a Bicycle Friendly Community for everyone. This award is the culmination of years of work by the citizens and organizations that support and advocate for better biking and facilities.
“Our city tagline, A Natural Place to Move, has long embraced and promoted biking within our community,” said Mayor Patricia Randall. “As we strive to improve our biking amenities, this acknowledgment from a national organization confirms that we are moving in the right direction!”
With more than 850 communities applying for recognition this year, the League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Friendly America program sets the standard for how communities build and benchmark progress toward making biking better. This round of awards includes 57 new and renewing awardees, joining a total of 497 current Bicycle Friendly Communities in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Silver BFC award recognizes the commitment of the City of Portage to improving conditions for all people who bike through investments in bike education programs, regular bike events that promote and encourage people to choose biking, pro-bike policies, and bike infrastructure.
The five levels of the BFC award – diamond, platinum, gold, silver, and bronze, plus an honorable mention category – provide a clear incentive for communities to continuously improve. Awarded communities must renew their status every four years to ensure that they not only maintain existing efforts, but also keep up with changing technology, national safety standards, and community-driven best practices.
