FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 20, 2023
Contact: Patrick J. McCormick
Communication Director
Phone: 202-822-1333; Fax: 202-822-1334
Email: [email protected]

(WASHINGTON, DC)—The League of American Bicyclists has named Denver, Colorado a Bicycle-Friendly Community, following a detailed audit of the city’s efforts to provide safe accommodation and facilities for bicyclists and to encourage residents to bike for transportation and recreation. Through policy and design, Denver has focused on increasing opportunities for physical activity and is a model in America’s efforts to reduce obesity.

Denver received the silver award, the third highest level of the League’s four-tiered Bicycle-Friendly Community national awards program. Just two cities, Palo Alto, CA and Corvallis, OR received the gold award; Denver was one of just six cities to receive the silver award. The League honored a total of fourteen communities around the United States with the Bicycle-Friendly Community award, but did not bestow the highest-level platinum award to any communities.

Denver has a long history of deep and abiding commitment to bicycling. The City is at the forefront of bicycle-related traffic facilities and technology. To make bicycling safer and more enjoyable, Denver has upgraded the traffic signals on bike routes to improve detection of bicycles. Denver’s annual Moonlight Classic Bike Ride attracts approximately 5,000 participants every August. Denver is contemplating establishing a Bikestation in 2004. This facility would provide secure bicycle parking and easy access to public transportation to encourage and simplify bicycle commuting.

The League of American Bicyclists considered several factors in evaluating Denver and other communities that applied for Bicycle-Friendly Community status. Reviewers examined the traffic engineering facilities and policies and bicycling promotion efforts of the communities. The cities’ enforcement of traffic laws on motorists and cyclists, their efforts to educate both groups on traffic safety, and their processes to plan for and evaluate policies and facilities for cycling also were considered.

Elissa Margolin, Executive Director of the League, said, “The League is delighted to honor Denver with the Bicycle-Friendly Community designation. Thanks to its long-term commitment to better bicycling, people in Denver benefit every day from reduced traffic, better air quality, and improved public health. These benefits translate to increased quality of life, higher property values, and heightened community spirit.”

The League’s Bicycle Friendly Community Campaign is a national grassroots effort to increase the number of trips made by bike, promote physical fitness, and help make communities more liveable. The Campaign works in the most effective way possible—town by town, city by city—to encourage bicycling and achieve a bicycle-friendly America.

Jenn Dice, advocacy director for the International Mountain Bicycling Association will present the award on June 25 as part of Denver’s 13th annual Bike to Work Day.

Denver is among the first communities in the nation that applied to receive the Bicycle-Friendly Communities designation under the League’s program, launched in September 2002. Communities wishing to be considered for the award should visit www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org to view the application and learn more about the program. The Campaign is supported by grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (www.rwjf.org) and the Bikes Belong Coalition (www.bikesbelong.org).



The League of American Bicyclists promotes bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation, and works through advocacy and education for a bicycle-friendly America on behalf of its 300,000 members and affiliates. For more information or to support the League, visit www.bikeleague.org and www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org.