{"id":295072,"date":"2025-11-19T15:18:36","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T15:18:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/295072\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T15:18:36","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T15:18:36","slug":"campuses-across-u-s-rally-to-make-biking-safer-easier-and-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/295072\/","title":{"rendered":"Campuses Across U.S. Rally To Make Biking Safer, Easier, And Better"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" top-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763565516_904_0x0.jpg\" alt=\"Various people cycling on the University of California, Davis campus.\" data-height=\"639\" data-width=\"959\" fetchpriority=\"high\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The League of American Bicyclists honored 45 colleges and universities in its latest round of Bicycle Friendly University (BFU) awards.<\/p>\n<p>League of American Bicyclists<\/p>\n<p>Initiatives to encourage cycling, from investing in infrastructure and strengthening community ties to making biking safer, easier, and more accessible as a means of transportation and recreation \u2014 were among the top reasons why <a href=\"https:\/\/bikeleague.us13.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=eb89ca754070e189bcb1c9928&amp;id=662054defb&amp;e=739eabf373\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/bikeleague.us13.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=eb89ca754070e189bcb1c9928&amp;id=662054defb&amp;e=739eabf373\" aria-label=\"45 colleges and universities\">45 colleges and universities<\/a> across the country were recognized for the 2025 <a href=\"https:\/\/bikeleague.org\/bfa\/university\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/bikeleague.org\/bfa\/university\/\" aria-label=\"Bicycle Friendly University\">Bicycle Friendly University <\/a>(BFU) awards.  Two additional institutions each earned an Honorable Mention. <\/p>\n<p>The honorees were announced on Thursday by the<a href=\"https:\/\/bikeleague.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/bikeleague.org\/\" aria-label=\"League of American Bicyclists\"> League of American Bicyclists<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat stands out about this round of Bicycle Friendly University awards is their commitment to listening, learning, and improving,\u201d Bill Nesper, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists, said in a statement.  \u201cThat spirit of progress is helping shape today\u2019s students into tomorrow\u2019s leaders, equipping them to carry on the work of building a more Bicycle Friendly America.\u201d  <\/p>\n<p>The benefits of supporting riding a bike at institutions of higher learning range from improving health and the environment to making cycling a core part of campus life and beyond, the cycling group noted.<\/p>\n<p>The new round of honorees includes higher education institutions designated as bike-friendly for the first time and others previously cited that moved up in the ranking. <\/p>\n<p>The awards, which include five levels \u2013 diamond, platinum, gold, silver, and bronze, plus an honorable mention category \u2013 are part of the League\u2019s<a href=\"https:\/\/bikeleague.org\/bfa#state\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/bikeleague.org\/bfa#state\" aria-label=\"Bicycle Friendly America program\"> Bicycle Friendly America program<\/a>, which evaluates communities and businesses in addition to universities.  <\/p>\n<p>This year\u2019s awardees are part of a network of <a href=\"https:\/\/bikeleague.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/BFU_Master_Award_List_2025.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/bikeleague.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/BFU_Master_Award_List_2025.pdf\" aria-label=\"204 Bicycle Friendly Universities\">204 Bicycle Friendly Universities<\/a> in 42 states, that range from the small, 700 student M State Fergus Falls in Minnesota to the more than 74,000 student Arizona State University\u2019s Tempe campus. College and university campuses are ideal settings to cultivate a pro-bike culture, as many are already \u201chigh-density areas designed for students to navigate without a car,\u201d the League said.  <\/p>\n<p>Encouraging cycling also addresses challenges on campuses like easing pressure on overcrowded and costly parking lots, supporting climate and carbon reduction goals, and enhancing safety by reducing vehicle traffic.<\/p>\n<p>Many of the honorees were cited for their progress in implementing initiatives recommended by the League in previous years, and for partnering with nearby towns to provide better access to safe, enjoyable biking beyond campus borders, for both the university\u2019s students, faculty and staff, as well as for the wider communities.  <\/p>\n<p>the University of California, Davis acted on the League\u2019s advice to implement <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/UCDavisOversizedParking\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/bit.ly\/UCDavisOversizedParking\" aria-label=\"new inclusive bike parking standards\">new inclusive bike parking standards<\/a> to accommodate tricycles, cargo bikes, and other adaptive cycles across campus;The University of Colorado Boulder was cited for a range of initiatives that embed biking in campus culture, like a mandatory fee that funds transit and bike infrastructure, free bikeshare memberships for more than 22,000 riders, and year-round biking events like the CU Bike Fest, which celebrates cycling on campus while increasing access to ridership through on-site maintenance and free refurbished bikes.                                   Illinois State University and California State University, Chico were commended for their steady improvements. Illinois State University, for example, partnered with a nearby town for a \u201cPedestrian and Roadway Campus Safety Initiative\u201d that expanded bike networks and improved campus and community safety.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe realize that biking is bigger than us,\u201d Virginia Commonwealth University, which renewed its Gold-level designation, noted in a statement. \u201cRather than focus solely on the university population, VCU\u2019s bike program encourages youth and diverse populations across the city to bike more. We hope this will influence the culture of Richmond as a whole.\u201d  <\/p>\n<p>An<a href=\"https:\/\/bikeleague.org\/bfa\/award-database\/#university\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/bikeleague.org\/bfa\/award-database\/#university\" aria-label=\"interactive map\"> interactive map<\/a> provides details about Bicycle Friendly initiatives across the country, including a list of Bicycle Friendly Universities in each state.<\/p>\n<p>To learn more about the<a href=\"https:\/\/bikeleague.org\/bfa\/university\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/bikeleague.org\/bfa\/university\/\" aria-label=\"Bicycle Friendly University\"> Bicycle Friendly University<\/a> program, including considerations for the next round of awards, click <a href=\"https:\/\/bikeleague.org\/bfa\/university\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/bikeleague.org\/bfa\/university\/\" aria-label=\"here\">here<\/a>. To view the recent and complete lists of honorees, click <a href=\"https:\/\/bikeleague.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/BFU_2025_Only.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/bikeleague.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/BFU_2025_Only.pdf\" aria-label=\"here\">here<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/bikeleague.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/BFU_Master_Award_List_2025.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/bikeleague.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/BFU_Master_Award_List_2025.pdf\" aria-label=\"here\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The League of American Bicyclists honored 45 colleges and universities in its latest round of Bicycle Friendly University&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295073,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[169355,64,63,169353,169351,36394,169354,6045,784,137,4217,169352,85],"class_list":["post-295072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-accessible-cycling","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bicycle-friendly-university","tag-bike-friendly","tag-biking","tag-cargo-bike","tag-climate","tag-cycling","tag-health","tag-infrastructure","tag-league-of-american-bicyclists","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295072"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295072\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}