Congratulations to Sequim, Washington State’s newest Bicycle Friendly Community. Sequim is the only new or upgraded Washington community on the League of American Bicyclists’ national list this year.
The Peninsula Daily News has the story of how Sequim made the list:
Sam Chandler of Ben’s Bikes, 1251 W. Washington St., filled out the lengthy questionnaire that assess everything from off-road trails to engineering for bicycle facilities and bike safety courses for youth.
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“We’ve got such a great cycling infrastructure and a really well-stocked community,” Chandler said.
“It just seemed like we were exactly fit for this.”
City officials said the distinction reflects an effort to make the city more rideable for bicyclists.
“It’s something we’ve found when we do surveys about what people want in regards to activities recreation,” City Manager Steve Burkett said.
One thing that held the city back from getting a higher rating: A lack of wayfinding signage to help people navigate the city on a bike.
Sequim joins 11 other communities in the state to make the list so far:
- Seattle: Gold
- Bellingham: Silver
- Olympia: Silver
- Port Townsend: Silver
- Redmond: Silver
- Anacortes: Bronze
- Bainbridge Island: Bronze
- Snohomish: Bronze
- Spokane: Bronze
- Tacoma: Bronze
- Vancouver: Bronze
Comments
4 responses to “Washington’s newest Bicycle Friendly Community: Sequim”
I’m not sure if signage is really an issue in the Sequim area, but it certainly gets my vote for some great riding. Whether off-road or on, I strongly advise people to check out this part of the Olympics. On Sunday I will be just south of Sequim looking for new places to ride, its always exciting exploring that vicinity!
Good news, I would love to see more local cities join the list.
It would be great if we could get a few more areas to have signed routes off of the major trails to their downtown areas. As an example, I always thought interurban could use better signage to downtown Edmonds (might make me want to use the ferry more).
The fact that Seattle is ranked “gold” makes me wonder whether these people understand metallurgy. Let alone bicycling. Oh well, congratulations to Sequim! I hope to get out there on a bike someday (if I can find my way).
I absolutely love the Olympic Discovery Trail and the way it connects Sequim to the natural beauty surrounding it. It is world class scenic beauty. This is well deserved if only for that feature.