Williamsburg VA Named a Bicycle Friendly Community

The League of American Bicyclists announced the latest round of Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) awards, and Williamsburg has been named a Bronze Level BFC.  The award recognizes the City’s commitment to improving conditions for bicycling through investment in bicycling promotion, education programs, infrastructure and pro-bicycling policies.

Williamsburg is the first community in Hampton Roads to be designated a Bicycle Friendly Community. It joins only seven other cities in Virginia: Harrisonburg, Charlottesville, Arlington, Alexandria, Roanoke, Reston and Richmond. (View complete list here)

“Becoming a Bicycle Friendly Community is the result of more than 40 years of partnerships and collaboration — by local and regional governments, the private sector, and enthusiastic, determined citizens,” said Williamsburg Mayor Clyde Haulman. “Receiving this designation not only fulfills one of Council’s longtime goals, but most importantly, inspires us to continue to make improvements to our bicycle infrastructure in the future.”
The BFC program provides a roadmap to building a Bicycle Friendly Community, and the application itself has become a rigorous and an educational tool in itself.  Planning Director Reed Nester and Zoning Administrator Rodney Rhodes spearheaded the application effort for the City.

The first Regional Bikeway Plan was adopted in 1993 by Williamsburg, James City and York County. There are now 11 miles of bike lanes and paths in the City (68% of those planned), a total of 69 miles of bicycle facilities for the three jurisdictions, plus 40 additional miles of shared roadway facilities on roads maintained by the National Park Service. 
Since its inception, more then 500 distinct communities have applied to be a BFE, and the five levels of the award – diamond, platinum, gold, silver and bronze – provide a clear incentive for communities to continuously improve. To learn more about the program, visit bikeleague.org/community.

Read more about cycling in the Williamsburg VA area here