By Anna Skinner
After their second attempt of trying to become an official Bicycle Friendly Community, Zionsville was finally granted the bronze award last month.
Including Zionsville’s newly established recognition, there are only nine other Bicycle Friendly Communities in the state and all communities are at the bronze level except Bloomington, which is at the silver level – an even more advanced process than the bronze.
Matt Dickey, director of the Parks and Recreation Department, said that the bronze level must be reapplied for every four years.
“It’s a really involved process,” Dickey said. “Each year we’ve applied we’ve gotten a little better, more sophisticated and more knowledgeable on the process.”
The League of American Bicyclists looks at five different areas to deem a community as bicycle friendly. The areas are known as the five “E’s”, or the engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement and evaluation and planning bicycle aspects of the community.
“Boone County is the third healthiest community in Indiana, and being a Bicycle Friendly Community allows a way to further acknowledge and build on that,” Dickey said. “It’s all part of a package that shows this is a place where homeowners and businesses would like to think about moving to.”
Last year Zionsville received an honorable mention for their attempts, and this year they can proudly make it known throughout the community that their efforts have been rewarded.
Dickey said that there will be Bicycle Friendly Community signs going up around the town, and some economic development projects will come into play. Being a Bicycle Friendly Community encourages more businesses and corporations to make their home in Zionsville.
The Pathways Committee is assisting town council with advising on trail changes and improvements.
“We’ll have to defend our bronze and think about silver down the line,” Dickey said.
