The Share the Road Cycling Coalition (SRCC), announced the first Bicycle Friendly Communities Awards in Canada this week. The announcement was made by League of American Bicyclings CEO Andy Clarke, and former-windsorite Eleanor McMahon of the SRCC during the 3rd Annual Ontario Bike Summit held in Ottawa.
The four communities that applied to the program each won awards – Windsor and Ajax won bronze awards, while Waterloo and Ottawa won Silver. The program gives a clear framework on how to improve upon current standings, so Windsor may improve its rating to Silver in the future – and hopefully continue to progress from there.
Currently there are 3 American cities that have been awarded Platinum level Bicycle Friendly Communities awards – Portland Oregon, Davis California, and Boulder Colorado. The City of Windsor may want to look at similarly sized cities, such as Madison, Wisconsin or Minneapolis, Minnesota, which have Gold-level standings to determine how to become more bicycle friendly.