Alexandria was re-awarded Silver Status as a Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) by the League of American Bicyclists.
Washington, DC earned Gold Status, moving up from Silver. There are just 450 BFCs in the United States.
With “traffic voter” signs appearing ahead of the June 12 primary in Alexandria City’s mayoral and City Council races, and several civic associations working to help guide traffic policy, commuting has become a hot issue. Add in the planned summer 2019 shutdown of all Metro stations south of Reagan National Airport, and bicycling to work is gaining more attention.
Related:
- Central Alexandria Traffic Recommendations Released
- Alexandria Metro Stations to Close for Summer 2019
Alexandria has more than 30 Capital Bikeshare docking stations and more are planned for the coming years, particularly west of Del Ray and Old Town.
Alexandria has 49 miles of bicycle lanes, shared lanes and trails for bicyclists. The City of Alexandria has been making frequent improvements in making the area friendly for bicyclists.
“The City’s expansion of the Bikeshare program, installation and designation of new bike lanes and routes, as well as the continual installation of bicycle parking throughout the City are just a few of the initiatives that make the City of Alexandria a nationally recognized Bike Friendly Community,” according to Alexandria’s online bicycling guide at www.alexandriava.gov/Bicycling.
Amelia Neptune, Director of the Bicycle Friendly America (BFA) program, said, “With each new application round, we see the growing ways that American communities are supporting and promoting bicycling as a health, economic, environmental and equity solution for their residents and visitors. From piloting new bikeshare technology to incorporating bike safety education to elementary school curriculum, the standards for the BFA program continue to rise as our 450 awarded Bicycle Friendly Communities lead the way in innovating bicycling improvements for everyone.”
