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Next time you’re in Fayetteville, look out for the city boundary signs. In addition to the new population figures, you may also notice a bike-friendly community sign posted just below.
These small signs may not seem like a big deal. But these things are not easy. In fact, it took decades of work and investment to earn the right to post these signs.
Every year, cities and towns of all sizes across the country vie for the bike-friendly community designation awarded by the American Cycling Federation. The Washington, DC-based league is the oldest and most established bicycle advocacy group in the country, dating back to the 1800s. The league measures communities in key areas known as his 5 E’s: Engineering, Equity, Education, Encouragement, Evaluation and Planning.
The community submits applications, answering literally hundreds of questions and reporting on all possible metrics related to the 5 E’s. Leagues can evaluate the data and decide to award Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum titles based on their community’s bike network and bike culture.
The league is very careful when choosing which communities to win. Bike Friendly Communities In his 25 years in his program, the league has received over 1,900 applications and awarded awards to just 501 communities. Only 2% of all these applications earned Gold or higher. In fact, he is the only community in the country to receive a new gold award in 2022. Fayetteville.
Currently, only Madison, Wisconsin is certified platinum in the Central Time Zone. And only Austin, Texas. Urbana, Illinois. Minneapolis and Minneapolis hold gold status. A rare company.
What did Fayetteville do to beat 98% of the other applicants? E holds the answer.
For Fayetteville, engineering means building over 53 miles of beautiful shared paved trails. Encouragement means bringing enthusiasm to new riders with beginner events such as the biannual Square to Square ride. Education means getting kids on bikes as part of a regular public school physical education curriculum, cultivating a generation of confident and informed riders. Equity means building infrastructure and programs for all, accommodating all ages and abilities. Assessing and planning means creating a master plan and sticking to it. In Fayetteville, 70% of residents live within a two-minute bike ride of her or a 10-minute walk from a paved trail. By 2040, the city plans to make it 100%.
Fayetteville is by no means alone in the area. Of his eight award-winning bike-friendly communities in Arkansas, five are in Benton or Washington counties. Northwest Arkansas has benefited from spectacular economic growth, far-sighted planning, and (not to mention) being home to some of the world’s richest cycling enthusiasts.
In fact, having a Razorback Regional Greenway in our backyard has some obvious benefits.
But I believe that friendly competition between neighboring cities is the secret to success in our corners of the state. Competition drives innovation and investment, and drives us to do bigger and better things. The signs on our streets and trails celebrate this award and challenge other cities to compete. So while we’re proud that Fayetteville was the first in Arkansas to be designated Gold, we certainly hope it won’t be the last.
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