This week the League of American Bicyclists announced the latest cities across the country to receive Bicycle Friendly Community awards and Watsonville was among them.
This week the League of American Bicyclists announced the latest cities across the country to receive Bicycle Friendly Community awards and Watsonville was among them, receiving a bronze level designation. The award will be presented at the Watsonville City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 23rd.
“This award recognizes the success of the Watsonville bicycle community in making the City a place where people of all ages can ride bikes,” said Public Works Assistant Director Maria Esther Rodriguez. “We very much appreciate the community members and City staff that worked with others to provide bicycle education in schools, bike to work events, an active bicycle advisory committee and over eight miles of bike and pedestrian trails.”
The League of American Bicyclists was founded in 1880 to advocate for better roads for bicycling. It instituted the Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) program to encourage communities to support cycling through education, engineering and enforcement. With the award, Watsonville becomes one of 416 Bicycle Friendly Communities in 50 states. In Santa Cruz County, the City of Santa Cruz is a gold level BFC and the University of California at Santa Cruz is a silver level BFC.
“Bicycling is a simple solution to many of the challenges we face,” says Rodriguez. “When we ride a bike, we improve our health, become more mobile and use a sustainable form of transportation. This award confirms that Watsonville is a bicycle friendly community and a great place to live, work and visit.”