Fort Collins solidified its place among the nation’s most bicycle friendly communities when the League of American Bicyclists announced Fort Collins achieved Gold Level designation in the Bicycle Friendly Community program. 

The announcement, which occurred earlier today, recognized Fort Collins’ efforts to promote bicycling and plans to continually improve the ease, convenience, and safety of traveling by bike.

This award is a result of strong local partnerships and community support.  The bike organizations, bike shops, and citizens have worked hard to create one of the best bike community’s in the nation.

Fort Collins is one of nine other U.S. communities with the gold level designation. Other gold level communities include, Corvallis, OR; Madison, WI; Palo Alto, CA; Stanford University, CA; San Francisco, CA; and Tucson/East Pima Region, AZ; Seattle, WA, and Jackson, WY.  There are only three other communities that have attained the platinum level designation: Portland, Oregon, Davis, California, and Boulder, CO (also just awarded).  The Bicycle Friendly Community program uses a level rating system: honorable mention, bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. 

The elite nature of this award reinforces the City's reputation as a leader in environmental stewardship and creating healthy, vibrant communities.  Fort Collins’ strong biking culture, including hundreds of miles of bike trails and lanes, is often cited as an important component to our quality of life and our community’s ability to retain and attract quality employers and their employees.

Hot off the heels of this announcement, the City of Fort Collins and partnering organizations already have plans to pursue the platinum level designation.  We’re proud of this accomplishment and we know that we have the right plans, the right infrastructure, and the right partnerships to reach that platinum level and beyond.