3 Benefits of a Silver-level Bicycle Friendly Community You Can Enjoy

Published on December 23, 2019

Arlington County was honored once again as a Bicycle Friendly Community from the League of American Bicyclists. Our County is one of just over 100 communities honored with a Silver-level designation, out of 488 communities evaluated by the program.

The program considers five main criteria and three key outcomes in its evaluation, including the current state of local bicycle networks, evaluation and planning efforts for the future and the availability of education and encouragement programs for adults and youth.

Here are three benefits of a Silver-level community you can enjoy right now:

1. 50 miles of shared-use trails and 40 miles of dedicated bike lanes, including a growing number of protected and buffered bike lanes

We know - it's winter. But they're out there, right now, waiting for you and your favorite sweater! Arlington County clears snow from a number of the most popular commuter trails so you can bike, or run, on them all year round. You can always explore them digitally and make plans for spring, if that's more your thing.

2. Meet some new friends on a bike ride

No matter what you are into, someone in Arlington is organizing a bike ride to do it. You can try BikeArlington's easy social rides to fun destinations, a community-led family bike ride with Kidical Mass, an Arlington Parks and Recreation's 55+ group ride or even introductory rides led by local bike shops.

3. Learn to ride (or learn to ride more confidently)

If you're one of the many adults in the region interested in learning to ride a bike, you can join BikeArlington and WABA for a class next spring. They also have classes for riders looking to understand how to ride safely and confidently on the local roads or trails. Arlington Public Schools has kiddos covered with their bike education unit for second graders.

And you can help things get even better!

Join your friends and neighbors on the Bicycle Advisory Committee and help make more good things happen! The committee meets monthly to discuss community-identified issues and offer recommendations to the county manager.

We're also at the beginning of our efforts to create a Vision Zero Action Plan, to prevent serious injuries and deaths from traffic crashes, and we need your help.

Sign up for email updates and get involved later this winter to help set the goals and values for our Action Plan.