Alpharetta Named Bicycle Friendly Community

ALPHARETTA, GA — The city of Alpharetta has been designated as a Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists. Alpharetta was touted for its leadership and investment in infrastructure, outreach and education that inspires residents to ride bikes.

"Congratulations to the city of Alpharetta for creating a safe, supportive and inviting environment for people to bicycle," League Executive Director Bill Nesper said in announcing the news. "Their vision and dedication have transformed local landscapes to ensure bicycling is a viable option for transportation such as commuting, making short trips around town and recreating."

Only 464 communities across the United States have earned the designation, which is based upon 10 “building blocks” divided into five categories: engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement, and evaluation/planning. They take into account factors such as the ratio of total bicycle network mileage to road network mileage, the presence of bicycle friendly laws and ordinances and how well a community is implementing its written bicycle plans.

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Bill Lusby, president of Bike Alpharetta, a nonprofit that advocates bicycling, said the designation is a "result of a tremendous number of hours of collaboration" between the city and the organization.

"We are encouraged that city leaders will continue to create safe and useful facilities for all types of multi-modal transportation, such as bicycling and walking," Lusby said.

Communities that have earned the BFC designation must renew their status every four years to ensure that they not only maintain existing efforts, but also keep up with changing technology, national safety standards, and community-driven best practices.

"We are very proud of earning the designation of Bicycle Friendly Community, but we are more proud of the impact that our partnership with Bike Alpharetta is having on Alpharetta," said Mayor Jim Gilvin. "Their volunteers have spent countless hours working with our staff to identify and pursue goals and strategies that are making Alpharetta safer for bicyclists and pedestrians; directly improving the quality of life of our citizens and visitors."

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