Ann Arbor takes silver award as bicycle friendly community

Wednesday, May 13, 2009 | Source: Concentrate

The League of American Bicyclists stuck another feather in Ann Arbor's cap, naming it a silver-level 2009 Bicycle Friendly Communities.

Tree Town garnered the award because of its consistent work ethic of improving conditions for bicyclists and investing in associated programs and facilities. This year featured an increase in the number of communities with new bike plans, but Ann Arbor was a ahead of the learning curve thanks to decades of work on behalf of bicyclists.

"There are so many reasons to use a bicycle as a primary mode of transportation," says Eli Cooper, transportation manager for the City of Ann Arbor. He ticked off a long list of those reasons, including a healthy lifestyle, pollution free transportation and availability of ample parking.

What made Ann Arbor's application (prepared by interns at the city) stand out was its consistent addition of bike lanes, informational website, encouragement of bicycling through programs like getDowntown and how many people actually use a bicycle in Ann Arbor.

Ten of 20 intersections counted in the city's bike data collection program have more than 300 cyclists over a 12 hour period. More than 7,500 cyclists have been counted in the city during the past three years, a steady increase over previous years.

Source: Eli Cooper, transportation manager for the City of Ann Arbor
Writer: Jon Zemke