Every year, the League of American Bicyclists evaluates interested municipalities throughout the country on how bike- friendly they are and give awards to those communities that make clear efforts to encourage cycling through law, policy, infrastructure and education. According to the League, 488 communities have been evaluated across America.
The awards stand for four years. Eight years ago, the city of Cottonwood received Bronze Status as a Bicycle Friendly Community. In 2016, the city applied for Silver Status, but did not receive it, receiving Bronze for a second time. After four years of making efforts to improve the city’s bicycle accessibility, the city was finally able to achieve Silver Status from the League.
“Communities like the city of Cottonwood are leading the nation when it comes to important livability factors that people want where they call home, like safe and accessible places to bike,” Bill Nesper, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists, said. “The city of Cottonwood joins 53 new and renewing Bicycle Friendly Communities as part of a movement toward more vibrant, healthy, sustain- able and connected places. Our nation and globe are facing complex public health and road safety challenges, and we’re proud that the city of Cottonwood and communities like it are embracing bicycling.”
Of the 13 municipalities in the state of Arizona that have been awarded by the League, only Tempe, Tucson and Scottsdale have beaten Cottonwood to Gold Status. Cottonwood shares its Silver rank with Mesa, Sedona and Flagstaff.
The efforts to improve the city’s bike-friendly character have been led by the city’s Bicycle Advisory Committee, a coalition of city and county staff, local bicycle enthusiasts, and staff of the Verde Valley Bicycle Company on N. Main Street.
“Silver for the city is a really big deal,” Randy Young, owner of the Verde Valley Bicycle Company, said. “It’s a great thing for the community. It shows how active the city council is in making Cottonwood more alternative-transportation friendly. It’s great for commuters and recreational cyclists alike, and it should attract more families to the area.”
Young pointed to ongoing efforts to develop a road diet on Main Street with dedicated bike lanes, along with support for cyclist safety from the Cottonwood Police Department.
Josh Frewin, a Cottonwood Parks and Recreation Department employee who took the lead in getting the city Silver Status, said that the road diet was one of the major changes that allowed the city to be upgraded in League awards, in addition to the Bicycle Corral in Old Town and increased bicycle safety education.
“One of the main purposes/goals of the League of American Bicyclists is to have a bicycle community in which anyone that lives within the city of Cottonwood can commute safely to their place of work/education within the city limits and back home,” Frewin wrote in an email. “This is one area that is the Bicycle Advisory Committee’s goal and an area identified as needing to improve. The hope is to include these areas into the trails master plan, so eventually there are trails/bike lanes from every section of town for anyone to be able to safely commute on their bicycle from home to work.”
The League’s report card for the city of Cottonwood gave the town high marks in most categories, but still showed room for improvement in bicycle infrastructure, bike-friendly laws and safety enforcement.
“I’m extremely proud of all the focused effort that’s resulted in Cottonwood obtaining Silver Status as a bicycle-friendly community,” Mayor Tim Elinski wrote in an email. “I’d like to thank all those who assisted the city in this accomplishment, including the bicycle advisory committee, Yavapai County Health Services, Verde Valley Cyclists Coalition, the Verde Valley Bicycle Company and all the enthusiasts and cyclists that gave their time and passion.”
