UM-Flint Named a Bicycle Friendly University by the League of American Bicyclists

The University of Michigan-Flint has received special recognition for its efforts to make the campus more bicycle friendly.

According to the League of American Bicyclists, more and more young people are getting on their bikes instead of in their cars, and that's thanks in part to universities like UM-Flint taking steps to make riding safer and more comfortable for students, faculty, staff and visitors to its campus. The League announced the latest round of Bicycle Friendly Universities (BFU) and UM-Flint has been named a Bronze Level BFU.

The BFU program is revolutionizing the way universities evaluate their efforts in sustainability, transportation options, and campus dwellers' quality of life, while allowing administrators to benchmark their progress toward improving their bicycle-friendliness.

With this impressive round, there are now 58 BFUs in 30 states across America. The Bronze Level BFC award recognizes UM-Flint's commitment to improving conditions for bicycling through investment in bicycling promotion, education programs, infrastructure, and pro-bicycling policies.

Theresa Landis, director of Auxiliary & Recreational Services and Greg Rybarczyk, assistant professor of Earth and Resource Science are co-chairs of the UM-Flint Walk & Bike Work Group. They said "the Bronze Level designation would not have happened without assistance from dedicated members of the group, programming intern Ali Harris, and research intern Laura Gallagher. This award is a stepping stone in a long planning process to make this campus more walkable, bikeable, and ultimately safer for everyone. We also want to thank the university for ongoing support and encouragement."

The BFU program provides a road map to building a Bicycle Friendly University with the application serving as a rigorous educational tool. The five levels of the award—diamond, platinum, gold, silver and bronze—provide a clear incentive for universities to continuously improve.