Florida Named A Bicycle Friendly State

July 9, 2020 – As an official Florida Trail Town, Titusville is a major hub in Florida bicycling and the city takes pride in the recent announcement that Florida has been named the 10th most Bicycle Friendly State in America by the League of American Bicyclists for 2019.

Titusville is where three major Florida trails converge. The Coast to Coast Trail is 250-miles long and will connect Playalinda Beach to St. Petersburg Beach. The St. Johns River to Sea Loop connects Titusville to St. Augustine on the north, stretches west to Palatka and then back around in a 260 mile loop. And finally, our trails connect to the East Coast Greenway, a 3000-mile stretch of trails connecting Maine to Key West.

As part of the Bicycle Friendly State in America designation, Florida ranked first in the Infrastructure and Funding category reflecting a strong statewide commitment to building a safe bicycle infrastructure using state and federal funds.

The program is structured around a ranking of all 50 states based upon publicly available data and a survey completed by state Departments of Transportation and/or state bicycle advocacy organizations. In 2015, Florida ranked 24th and, in 2017, Florida ranked 15th.

“This ranking is a testament to the Florida Department of Transportation’s continued commitment to providing a safe transportation system for all road users in the state of Florida,” said FDOT Secretary Kevin J. Thibault. “FDOT is proud to receive this recognition from the League of American Bicyclists.”

The commitment of the City of Titusville to bicycling infrastructure is clear. There is the Welcome Center in Titusville’s downtown with a bike shop that offers rentals and repairs. There are bike-friendly lanes designated on streets and a pedestrian/biking only bridge that allows riders to cross a multi-lane street safely.

The Bicycle Friendly State program was launched in 2008 to better understand state efforts related to bicycling and provide a comparative framework that allows states to easily identify areas of strength.

The rankings are based on five categories on the League of American Bicyclist Friendly Action Plan of Complete Streets. States are graded on categories such as Infrastructure and Funding, Education and Encouragement, Legislation and Enforcement, Policies and Programs, and Evaluation and Planning.

This national recognition is in line with Florida’s commitment to spend $100 million on street lighting for people biking and walking to improve safety.

Source: MSN