City of Columbia designated a Bicycle Friendly Community

The City of Columbia has been designated as a Bicycle Friendly Community at the Bronze level by the League of American Bicyclists.  The Bicycle Friendly Community program is a national recognition program administered by the League of American Bicyclists; there are currently 416 Bicycle Friendly Communities in the United States. Receiving a designation as a “Bicycle Friendly Community” is a designation with real meaning; it is difficult to earn and important to renew.

The Bicycle Friendly Community program provides a roadmap to improving conditions for bicycling and guidance to help make your community’s vision for a better, bikeable community a reality.  The BFC designations of honorable mention, bronze, silver, gold and platinum, and diamond are awarded to applicant communities that have demonstrated how they welcome bicyclists by providing safe accommodations for bicycling and encouraging people to bike for transportation and recreation.

As we strive to become a more bicycle friendly community, the City has had a number of notable successes.  These successes include:

• The development and adoption of the Walk Bike Columbia Pedestrian & Bicycle Master Plan and Bike Share Plan (2015);
• Partnerships with the Richland Penny Tax for Transportation program which resulted in the completion of the Vista Greenway, Phase II, and the completion of Foundation Square, which includes the first pedestrian-oriented tabletop intersection and the first green bike boxes and advance stop bars in the State of South Carolina;
• The City’s Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) has been active on a number of fronts, recently hosting Open Streets Columbia in April, and providing meaningful support to the City’s implementation of the Walk Bike Columbia Master Plan; and
• The celebration of bicycling City-wide through National Bike Month events each May (see https://www.columbiasc.net/planning-preservation/bpac/bike-month for event details).

The City of Columbia is has been designated as a bronze-level community since 2008; the designation is a four-year designation.  The University of South Carolina is currently also designated a bronze-level Bicycle Friendly Campus, and in recent months two businesses have been designated as Bicycle Friendly Businesses in Columbia (Outspokin’ Bicycles and the Bank of America building).  Bicycle Friendly designations within South Carolina can be accessed at http://bikeleague.org/bfa/awards#community.  The City of Columbia is one of five designated communities in the state; currently Greenville, Spartanburg, and Rock Hill are also bronze-level designees, and Hilton Head Island is a gold-level designee.

For more information, visit http://bikeleague.org/community  or contact the Planning and Development Services Department at 803-545-3222.  For more information about the Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Council (BPAC), visit https://www.columbiasc.net/planning-preservation/bpac