Awards: Fitness, Biking & Walking
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Arlington County Achieves Highest Walking Status Among American Communities
The County has been named one of five Walk Friendly Platinum Communities in the U.S. this year, joining an exclusive group comprised of much-larger New York City, Seattle, Portland and San Francisco.
Arlington County Receives Governor's Highway Safety Award -- 2019
The award recognizes the collaborative efforts of ACPD, DES Transportation Engineering and Operations, Bike Arlington, Walk Arlington, the Bicycle Advisory Commission and the Pedestrian Advisory Commission on the development and implementation of a multi-faceted plan to reduce pedestrian and bicycle-involved crashes in Arlington County.
No. 17 Best Bike City in US
Named 17th best biking city in America by Bicycling magazine, up from 25 in 2016. (October 2018)
Fittest City in America
In their 2018 American Fitness Index rankings, Arlington, VA was named the fittest city in the United States by the American College of Sports Medicine.
No. 25 on Best Bike Cities List
Rodale Bicycling Magazine ranked Arlington no. 25 on their list of ‘Top 50 Best Bike Cities of 2016.’ (Nov. 2016)
3rd Healthiest in America
Arlington has been named among the nation’s healthiest places to live by Niche.com. Arlington received an ‘A’ grade in access to doctors, mental health providers and recreation and fitness facilities. With 150+ listed parks and 13 recreation centers, along with privately owned gyms, Arlington has many options for residents to stay healthy. (Aug. 2016)
Top Walkable City
A new book named Arlington as one of nine U.S. communities at the forefront of walkable places. (July 2016)
No. 1 Fittest City
Washington, D.C./Arlington/Alexandria were ranked by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) as the fittest of the nation’s 50 most populous metropolitan areas, in its Annual Fitness Index. The ranking is based on “a composite of preventive health behaviors, levels of chronic disease conditions, health care access, and community resources and policies that support physical activity.” (May 2016)
A Gold-level Walk Friendly Community
The County is one of only 15 communities across the nation — out of the 58 ranked since the inception of the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center program — to receive the Gold rating from Walk Friendly Communities (WFC). According to WFC, the designation reflects the County’s multimodal transportation planning as well as its promotion, outreach and educational offerings for residents and staff. Encouragement programs focusing on safety and the many benefits of walking, such as the PAL Campaign (Predictable, Alert and Lawful), and WalkArlington also were cited. (May 2016)
Arlington 3rd Healthiest
We were named third healthiest community in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation program. (March 2016).
Arlington County Earns Gold Status as a Bicycle Friendly Business
Arlington County has improved from silver to gold status and is among more than 1,100 businesses across the U.S. recognized by the League of American Bicyclists as a Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB). The County is one of 157 gold ranking awardees and is one of only six local government agencies to rank as a platinum or gold BFB. Awardees are recognized for their efforts in the areas of engineering, education, encouragement, evaluation and planning. Arlington also holds a silver ranking as a Bicycle Friendly Community. (Feb. 2016)
Best City for Staying Healthy
For cities with populations of 100,000 to 500,000, Arlington took the top spot for Best Cities for Staying Healthy, according to AARP . Top cities in this area had residents who had healthy lifestyles as well as plenty of health care options. One reason AARP gave for Arlington’s rank was its access to exercise opportunities. In terms of overall livability, Arlington took the sixth spot for populations between 100,000 and 500,000. (April 2015)
Arlington is #6 Healthiest City
What helped land Arlington on the list of the Top 10 Healthiest Cities was the high percentage of residents who engage in healthy behaviors like exercising regularly, carpooling to work, recycling, not smoking and drinking in moderation. Arlington’s healthy status is one of the reasons it made out 2015 Best Places to Live list. (April 2015)
Arlington Named #19 Top Bike-Friendly City
Bicycling Magazine has again named Arlington as one of the Top 50 Bike-Friendly Cities in the nation, citing our real-time bike counters on trails, bike shops, community connections and the Air Force Association Cycling Classic. (September 2014)
Top 20 “Most Bikeable” Community in U.S.
Arlington’s ranking of 17 makes us one of the most bike-able communities in the country. The scoring looks at bike infrastructure, terrain, and the popularity of biking.
Arlington Named #23 Top Bike-Friendly City
Bicycling Magazine has again named Arlington as one of the Top 50 Bike-Friendly Cities in the nation, citing our Capital Bikeshare system, bike lanes, and Car-Free Diet challenge. (May 2012)
Arlington 2nd Healthiest County in Virginia
Arlington is ranked Virginia’s second healthiest county in the 2012 County Health Rankings in a study from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin. The rankings measure health in four categories: health behavior, clinical care, social and economic factors, and physical environment. (April 2012)