Philly’s a Friendly City for Bikers

Philadelphia is a great place to live for many reasons, not the least of which is that it is so easy to walk or bike everywhere one needs to go. The City of Brotherly Love is a great place for bikers, and that’s a fact confirmed by the League of American Bicyclists. The League recently renewed Philadelphia’s silver certification as a “Bicycle Friendly Community,” a designation given only to cities that have made special accommodations for bikers.

Philadelphia is a great city for bikers – and they have the renewed Silver certification to prove it.

The League, which promotes bike-riding across the country, awarded 103 certifications on Wednesday. That included 26 new certifications and 77 renewals, like the one that Philadelphia got. Cities that were certified had to meet certain bike-friendly requirements, which include promoting bikers’ safety and introducing measures to encourage biking. Philadelphia had its certification, which lasts for four years, renewed at a silver level. The city qualified for silver back in 2012, and bronze in 2008. Clearly, the city has stepped forward in its accommodation of bike riders.

“Between the introduction of Indego bike share, the first Philly Free Streets, and the continuing growth of the bike network, the city is becoming more fun and easy for people to bike in everyday,” Kelley Yemen, the city’s complete streets director at the Office of Transportation & Infrastructure Systems, said in a news release quoted by the Philly Voice. “The Silver Bike Friendly Community designation recognizes the great work we are doing and provides us with a roadmap to move towards a Gold designation in the future.”

Philly would have to make a few tweaks to earn gold in the future. The city would need to improve bike parking and enforcement of such, boost its “Complete Streets” policy, and invest more staff time in improving conditions for bikers. Philly is in good company as a silver city, joining the likes of Chicago and New York City.