Bicycle Friendly Communities

The Bicycle Friendly Community program provides incentives, hands-on assistance and award recognition for communities that actively support bicycling through a combination of infrastructure, programs and policies. There are currently 23 Wisconsin Bicycle Friendly Communities in the League of American Bicyclists Award Database (select WI from the map and scroll for lists):

• Platinum: Madison
• Silver: Appleton, Fitchburg, La Crosse, Milwaukee, Shorewood, Stevens Point
• Bronze: Dane County, Eau Claire, Green Bay, Janesville, Kenosha County, Menasha, Menomonie, Monona, Onalaska, River Falls, Sheboygan, Sheboygan County, Sturgeon Bay, Sun Prairie, Verona, West Allis

People on bicycles are an indicator species for vibrant, economically healthy communities where people want to live, work, do business and visit. Investments in bicycling yield tremendously high returns at a very small cost. Bicycling is such a cost-effective, simple solution for so many of today’s complicated problems, it’s no wonder communities across the state are working to make themselves more bicycle friendly.

Get started in applying for a Bicycle Friendly Community Award!

• Begin by downloading and reading the Bicycle Friendly Community Overview.
• Take a few minutes to evaluate your community with this quick Bicycle Friendly Community Scorecard.
• Visit the League’s Application Portal. The online application and process will require some research into demographics and infrastructure to complete.
• Plan your strategy for pitching bicycle-friendly improvements.
• Gather support.
• Call your government official and request a meeting.
• Ask for something specific and try to get a specific commitment. A good starting point is to ask if the person will submit the application for Bicycle Friendly Community status.
• Follow up and follow up (and follow up).
• Consider hiring the Bike Fed to create and submit your application – We have a proven track record of procuring designations including Madison’s Platinum Status.

The Five E’s of the League of American Bicyclists Ranking Assessment:

• ENGINEERING – Bike lanes, bike routes, trails, bike parking, etc.
• EDUCATION – Availability of cycling education, safety materials, Safe Routes to School programs and number of League cycling instructors
• ENCOURAGEMENT – Bike to Work Week events, Bike Challenge participation, printed materials such as maps and brochures, fun events like Tour de Fat, etc.
• EVALUATION and PLANNING – Community Bike Plan, annual bike counts, evaluation of crash data, mode share, etc.
• EQUITY – while not an official “E”,  equity is an important consideration, and is the recognition that recognize that youth, women and people of color are underrepresented in many bike advocacy efforts and local transportation decisions.

Funding and Technical Assistance Grant Opportunities courtesy of League of American Bicyclists as of February 2024: 

• AARP Community Challenge Grant
  • https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/community-challenge/
  • Their microgrant category includes a Bike Audit microgrant that includes funding and technical assistance from the League of American Bicyclists!
• City Thread AMP Technical Assistance Grant
  • https://www.citythread.org/amp-technical-assistance-grant/
• USDOT Grant links:
  • Key Notices of Funding Opportunities: https://www.transportation.gov/bipartisan-infrastructure-law/key-notices-funding-opportunity
  • Discretionary Grants dashboard: https://www.transportation.gov/grants/dashboard
• U.S. Conference of Mayors Grant Application Bootcamp:
  • https://localinfrastructure.org/application-bootcamp/
• Federal Funding Resources from the League:
  • https://bikeleague.org/federal-funding-resources/
  • https://data.bikeleague.org/in-this-report/federal-transportation-funding/