Congratulations Spartanburg!

Shortly after I mentioned Spartanburg in yesterday’s post, I heard the news that they were designated as a Bronze level Bicycle Friendly Community by the LAB. Congratulations to Spartanburg on being the first city in South Carolina to earn that designation. Many people in Spartanburg have worked hard in recent years to make this happen, and they deserve to be commended. Let’s hope that this news encourages all of us in Greenville to step up our efforts toward reaching the same goal of BFC designation.

You can read more about Spartanburg’s designation in the following press release:

Spartanburg Recognized as the First City in South Carolina to Receive Bicycle-Friendly Community Recognition

SPARTANBURG (September 25, 2007) The City of Spartanburg has been nationally designated as a Bronze Level, Bicycle-Friendly Community from The League of American Bicyclists and proclaimed as the first city in South Carolina to receive such an honor.

The criteria used by national reviewers are:

• The community had systems in place to train children and adult cyclists.
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  Bicyclists were included in the City’s transportation plan.
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  Police officers understood and enforced bicyclists’ rights and responsibilities.
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  The community participated in Bike Month, hosted community bike rides and overall encouraged cycling.

The City of Spartanburg was recognized for the recently completed two-mile rail-trail through downtown which was financed with more than $1 million in local funds.

The City of Spartanburg’s Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee was established in February 2006 under the direction of Mayor Barnet. Its chartered purpose is to promote policies, practices and attitudes to increase safety and accessibility of bicycling and walking for both transportation and recreation throughout the City of Spartanburg.

The Bike Town Initiative was created in 2004 with the goal of earning Spartanburg the designation as a Bicycle Friendly Community by 2007. It is funded by Mary Black Foundation and directed by Partners for Active Living.

The Bicycle-Friendly Community Campaign is an awards program of the League of American Bicyclists that recognizes municipalities that actively support bicycling. On September 29, 2006, the City of Spartanburg was the first in the state to receive Honorable Mention from the Bicycle-Friendly Community Campaign.