Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Bicycle Friendly Ranking

      The 2013 Bicycle Friendly State rankings were issued today by the League of American Bicyclist.  Tennessee jumped again from 27'th in 2012 to 17'th in 2013.  We have seen a continually increase since the formation of Bike Walk Tennessee in 2009 when Tennessee received a 43'rd rank.  At that time Chattanooga was the only bicycle friendly city and Memphis was identified as one of the three worst cities in America for bicycling.  Tennessee can now claim Chattanooga, Knoxville, and Nashville as bike friendly cities and Memphis received an honorable mention in the city awards. The bicycle advocacy work in these four cities is remarkable.
      In 2012 Tennessee's first Bicycle Summit was held in Chattanooga.  This year the Summit is being held in Memphis.  Next year, Nashville will hold the Summit.
      The FOGBEES have played a significant role in this progress.  Members of our club work with TDOT, the Nashville MPO, Adventure Cycling Association, the League of American Bicyclists, the Alliance for Bicycling and Walking, and the Safe Routes to School Network to help advance benefits.  Two out of the three charter signing members of Bike Walk Tennessee were FOGBEES. At this time both Bruce Day and David Shumaker continue providing leadership to Bike Walk Tennessee.  If you wish to contribute to this effort, please contact Bruce Day.

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