Got this message from Michelle Glickert at the Santa Monica transportation office.
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A representative of the League of American Bicyclists will present plaques and certificates at an unveiling ceremony in front of City Hall on Friday, May 29th , in commemoration of Santa Monica's recent
recognition as a bronze-level Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC),. The award presentation will include members of the Santa Monica City Council, and begins at approximately 9:00am.
"The League is delighted to recognize Santa Monica for its efforts to welcome bicyclists and make bicycling safer and more enjoyable," stated League President Andy Clarke. "We applaud Santa Monica and our other BFC winners for their willingness to invest over the long-term in creating a
better, more livable environment for their citizens."
The award recognizes Santa Monica's commitment to improving conditions for bicycling and its practice of making focused investment in bicycling programs and facilities. The BFC judges were particularly impressed with Santa Monica's encouragement initiatives that include the innovative Bicycle Valet program, which parked over 20,000 bikes in 2008. The service is offered free of charge at community events year round,
improving the convenience of biking and reducing traffic congestion by providing a reliable alternative to driving. The City is eager to continue making further advancements in the League's five assessment categories of education, engineering, enforcement, encouragement, and evaluation. Many bicycle-focused plans are incorporated into the City's Land Use and Circulation Element Strategy Framework.
Local bicycle advocates will also be taking part in Friday's event, and are organizing a Car-Free Friday ride through Santa Monica to arrive at City Hall prior to the ceremony. The ride is being planned by the Santa
Monica Spoke, a local bicycle-promoting organization associated with the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, and continues a tradition of rides held the last Friday of every month.
New leadership for bicycling in Santa Monica has emerged in localschools as well, where Santa Monica High School students have started clubs to encourage students to reduce their carbon footprint by biking to school, resulting in an increase from 20 to 120 students biking over a two year period. The Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District unanimously passed a Bike to School Day resolution supporting collaborative efforts to encourage students to walk and bike to school district-wide. Parents, teachers, administrators, school resource officers, and students are supporting bike safety and helmet use programs to accompany the student-led Bike and Walk to School Day events.
The application process to become a Bicycle Friendly Community is rigorous; currently only 108 of the 274 applicants have a BFC four-year designation. All applications are carefully evaluated by a team of
local cyclists, national experts, and League of American Bicyclists staff. Santa Monica's achievement in receiving this difficult to earn designation was made possible by a broad base of bicycle support and
advocacy within the community. Many dozens of community leaders, current and former city government officials, school groups, families, and businesses give their tireless support to community bicycle initiatives. It is this pervasive support of cycling, and Santa Monica's desire to continuously improve conditions, that encourages our community to seek new ways of working together for future achievements in bicycle
friendliness.
Santa Monica is the first city in western Los Angeles County to be honored with this prestigious award, and is joined by Long Beach among this year's honorees. The previous recipients from the County are
Claremont and Santa Clarita.
More information about the LA County Bicycle Coalition and their Car-Free Friday Bicycle Ride can be found at their website,
http://la-bike.org/ <http://la-bike.org/> or from the ride's coordinator Dr. Michael Cahn at
velocipedus@gmail.com <mailto:velocipedus@gmail.com> .
Additional information about the League of American Bicyclists' BFC designation is available from the League of American Bicyclists <http://www.bikeleague.org/> at 202-822-1333.
Questions about the City's award or other bicycling projects may be directed to Michelle Glickert at
michelle.glickert@smgov.net <mailto:michelle.glickert@smgov.net> or 310-458-2204. Please visit
www.bike.smgov.net <http://www.bike.smgov.net/> to access the city's bicycle map and other helpful cycling resources.
