Wichita has been recognized nationally for its ongoing efforts to improve conditions for bicycling. On Wednesday, the League of American Bicyclists awarded local government an Honorable Mention designation for working with community partners to create a bicycle-friendly city.

Honorable Mention communities are generally recognized for having popular shared use paths, community-wide bicycling events, or recent bicycle planning processes. More than 100 communities that originally earned an Honorable Mention have gone on to be awarded a Bicycle Friendly Community Bronze designation or better.

The City of Wichita has worked diligently to implement the community’s Wichita Bicycle Master Plan. Since the endorsement of the plan in 2013, the City has installed more than 30 miles of bikeways; created the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board; created a plan for bicycle wayfinding; and worked with community partners to secure funding for a variety of bicycling related initiatives. Please find Wichita’s League of American Bicyclists report card at the following link, which features key recommendations and statistics based on local data: http://tinyurl.com/j2d97y8. You can find more information about the Wichita Bicycle Master Plan and related City efforts to improve conditions for bicycling at www.wichita.gov/bicycle.

The League of American Bicyclists on Wednesday welcomed 26 new and 77 renewing Bicycle Friendly Communities, or BFC. This is the largest application round in the BFC program’s 13 year history. In total, 140 communities applied for recognition, a 62 percent increase from the previous largest round. There are now 404 BFCs in all 50 states.

The League of American Bicyclists works to create a Bicycle Friendly America, with a commitment to listen and learn, define standards and share best practices to engage perse communities and build a powerful, unified voice for change.