The League of American Bicyclists recently honored the efforts of the City of Sequim to build better places for people to bike with a Bronze-level Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) award, city representatives said last week.

Sequim joins 506 communities across the country in the movement for safer streets and better bicycling for all.

The award recognizes Sequim for its commitment to creating transportation and recreational resources that benefit its residents of all ages and abilities while encouraging healthier and more sustainable transportation choices, city representatives said.

The League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Friendly America program sets standards for how communities build and benchmark progress toward making biking better. Earlier this year, the League made significant updates to add and integrate equity and accessibility into the program’s application and to emphasize the importance of building and connecting low-speed and low-stress bike networks.

“The City continues to support improvements for better cycling through capital projects that integrate bicyclist and pedestrian safety and accessibility,” said Meggan Uecker, a resource analyst with the City of Sequim.

“We look forward to continuing to work with local stakeholders to expand support for cycling in our community.”

The Bronze BFC award recognizes Sequim’s commitment as well as the efforts of the community to improving conditions for all people who bike through elements such as bike infrastructure, efforts around adult and youth bike education, encouragement through events like Bike to Work Day, evaluation mechanisms and enforcement.

Communities receiving the distinction must renew their status every four years to not only maintain existing efforts, but keep up with changing technology, national safety standards and community-driven best practices.

Sequim Bicycle Alliance, an umbrella coordinating group for bicycling stakeholders in eastern Clallam County, meets periodically at the Sequim Civic Center or online. For more about the group, visit sequimwa.gov/765/Sequim-Bicycle-Alliance.

Learn more about the BFC program at bikeleague.org/community.