W. Ponce De Leon Avenue. Photo by Dan Whisenhunt

The City of Decatur has once again been named a Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) by The League of American Bicyclists. The city was dubbed a Bronze Level BFC in the League’s report on state bicycle friendliness.

Decatur, which has been a BFC since 2012, responded on the city website, saying “Decatur continues to make infrastructure and programming improvements to increase the safety as well as the prevalence of bicycling. With the addition of bike lanes and sharrows, bike valet parking at major events, bike safety training and more, the city has seen a large increase in the number of cyclists over the past years.”

Out of 50 states, Georgia ranked 25th. A Bike League report card for the state had recommendations like ensuring “that no funds from the Transportation Alternatives program are transferred for purposes other than bicycling and walking projects.” It also suggested adopting what’s called a vulnerable road user law, which would increase penalties for drivers who injure or kill a vulnerable road user.

May is National Bike Month, and Decatur Active Living is holding biking events all month. This weekend there will be a bike valet at the annual Decatur Arts Festival.