The City of Fort Wayne has once again earned the title of Bicycle Friendly Community from the League of American Bicyclists.

The League recently announced that 34 communities have earned the Bicycle Friendly title for the first time or have successfully renewed their designation. Every four years, a community must apply to keep its designation. There are now 372 Bicycle Friendly Communities across the United States. The Bicycle Friendly Community award recognizes a community’s commitment to improving conditions for bicycling through investment in bicycling promotion, education programs, infrastructure and pro-bicycling policies.

“Encouraging biking is an important part of building a vibrant, healthy and connected city,” said Mayor Tom Henry. “I’m proud of the work we’re doing to promote bicycling through our new Fort Wayne Bike Share program, our installation of bike racks throughout the City, our work to add more bike lanes and our commitment to expanding our trails system.”

Over the last seven years, the City of Fort Wayne has installed 275 bike racks at local businesses and added 12 miles of bike lanes. The Fort Wayne Regional Trails system boasts 90 miles of trails, and nearly 70 of those miles are within City limits; the City maintains 66 miles of the trails. Active Transportation Planner Kate Riordan visits dozens of schools each year to educate students about bicycle safety and the City promotes biking through events like Trek the Trails and the Bike to Work Day breakfast. Additionally, the City is an active partner in Kickstart, the month-long festival celebrating bikes, art, music and theater.

In 2010, the Fort Wayne City Council adopted the Bike Fort Wayne Plan, which lays out a comprehensive approach to making the community more bicycle friendly through three strategies: building infrastructure that promotes biking as a safe means of transportation, educating the public about the benefits of cycling and encouraging policy changes that support the promotion of cycling as a means of transportation.

Information about the City of Fort Wayne’s efforts to promote safe and convenient biking can be found online at www.fwcommunitydevelopment.org/bike.