In May 2008, the Tucson-Pima Eastern Region once again received a Gold Award from the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) in recognition of the region’s ability to provide a bicycle friendly environment. The region is the only region in the country that is recognized with the Gold status as a bicycle friendly community. The region first received Gold status from LAB in May 2006. The award reflects the exceptional level of cooperation between the nine regional jurisdictions, and acknowledges the depth and breadth of programs, policies, facilities and outreach that make the Tucson-Pima Eastern Region the premier bicycle friendly region in the country.    Communities applying for LAB recognition are judged in five categories, often referred to as the Five Es. These are Engineering, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, and Evaluation/Planning. A community must demonstrate achievements in each of the five categories in order to be considered for an award. Communities with more significant achievements in these areas, such as the Tucson-Pima Eastern Region, receive superior awards. Filling out the Bicycle Friendly Community application is an education in itself, as communities see where they are lacking in each of these categories. Visit http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bicyclefriendlyamerica/ to learn more.   The 2008 application effort involved all jurisdictions in the region, and included extensive involvement from law enforcement officials and the bicycling community, including the Tucson-Pima County Bicycle Advisory Committee. Jurisdictional representatives and citizen volunteers met regularly to craft the 2008 application, with special attention focused on each of the Five Es.

Engineering Communities are asked about what is on the ground; what has been built to promote cycling in the community. For example, questions in this category inquire about the existence and content of a bicycle master plan, the accommodation of cyclists on public roads, and the existence of both well-designed bike lanes and multi-use paths in the community. Reviewers also look at the availability of secure bike parking and the condition and connectivity of both the off-road and on-road network.   Education The questions in this category are designed to determine the amount of education available for both cyclists and motorists. Education includes teaching cyclists of all ages how to ride safely in any area from multi-use paths to congested city streets as well as teaching motorists how to share the road safely with cyclists. Some things that reviewers look at are the availability of cycling education for adults and children, the number of League of American Bicyclists' cycling instructors in the community, and other ways that safety information is distributed to both cyclists and motorists in the community including bike maps, tip sheets, and as a part of driver’s education manuals and courses.   Encouragement This category concentrates on how the community promotes and encourages bicycling. This can be done through Bike Month and Bike to Work Week events as well as producing community bike maps, route-finding signage, community bike rides, commuter incentive programs, and having a Safe Routes to School program. In addition, some questions focus on other things that have been built to promote cycling or a cycling culture such as off-road facilities, BMX parks, velodromes, and the existence of both road and mountain bicycling clubs.   Enforcement The enforcement category contains questions that measure the connections between the cycling and law enforcement communities. Questions address whether or not the law enforcement community has a liaison with the cycling community, if there are bicycle divisions of the law enforcement or public safety communities, if the community uses targeted enforcement to encourage cyclists and motorists to share the road safely, and the existence of bicycling related laws such as those requiring helmet or the use of sidepaths.   Evaluation & Planning Here the community is judged on the systems that they have in place to evaluate current programs and plan for the future. Questions are focused on measuring the amount of cycling taking place in the community, the crash and fatality rates, and ways that the community works to improve these numbers. Communities are asked about whether or not they have a bike plan, how much of it has been implemented and what the next steps for improvement are.

2008 Application (3.5MB PDF)

LAB Feedback Spring 2008 (107KB PDF)

The Leage of American Bicyclists ranked Arizona as the third-friendliest state for bicyclists in the country. This is the first year of the ranking. (September 2008)