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The Greater Eugene Area Riders (GEARS) is celebrating the announcement by the League of American Bicyclists that Eugene, Oregon has become one of only 10 cities in the nation to be designated a Gold level bicycle friendly community. After being designated at the Silver level in 2004, Eugene’s continuous commitment to bicycling has been reinforced with the award in October of 2009.

According to GEARS, “We have seen some great changes in the past few years at both the city and community level to earn this award. Here are a few of the projects GEARs has been active in coordinating, participating in, or is simply excited about:

  * Implementation of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Strategic Plan
  * Formation, meetings, & events of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC)
  * Growth in special events including a larger Bike Day celebration, the Spring Roll Ride, and Breakfast at the Bridges events
  * Completion of three successful Walk and Bike Summits
  * Growth in the Safe Routes to School program including several active SRTS schools, a growth from 8 participating schools for Walk + Bike to School Day to 29, the formation of the SRTS Team, and the start of Kidical Mass!
  * Hosting of several Webinars by the City of Eugene for the community and the BPAC
  * Opening of a new multi-use bridge over I-5 and work on one over Delta Hwy.
  * Creation of a new and updated bicycle/pedestrian map.
  * Work with the City to improve the “leaf collection program” to increase safety for cyclists.
  * Starting the Eye-to-Eye campaign; a share-the-road education program.
  *Growth of the Business Commute Challenge for National Bike to Work Month in May.

To celebrate these and other GEAR achievements, GEAR joined the City of Eugene City of Eugene and Mayor Kitty Piercy on Octover 22nd for a happy hour celebration entitled “Eugene Goes Gold!.” For more information, visit http://www.eugenegears.org/archives/1109.