Bicycle Friendly Community

Encouraging bicycling is an effective way to increase physical activity, improve air quality, reduce traffic congestion and oil dependence, and tackle climate change and obesity. To find out more about creating a bicycle friendly community visit http://www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org/
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Bikes Belong Coalition:

• Bicycling improves quality of life. it gets you outside, relieves stress, makes you feel better, and creates a way to spend time with family and friends. Best of all, it's convenient, flexible and free. Whether for recreation, transportation, or competition, bicycling offers a lifetime of health and fun.
• Bike paths boost property values. Properties next to the Mountain Bay Trail in Wisconsin sell faster and for an average of 9% more than similar lots away from the trail.
• Someone who bikes four miles round-trip to work instead of driving keeps 51 punds of carbon monoxide out of the air each year and burns 36,000 calories - the equivalent of 10 pounds of fat.
• Just three hours of bicycling per week can redcue a person's risk of heart disease and stroke by 50%.
• Bicycling is an inexpensive, convenient way to stay fit and healthy. The annual operating cost of a bike is just 2.5% that of a car.
• Bicycling promotes healthier lifestyles; creates jobs and supports independent businesses; lowers healthcare costs; strengthens family bonds; provides a recreational outlet for youth; builds closer-knit communities; reduces polluting emissions; decreases road congestion; and lessens our dependence on foreign oil.

"When we make biking and walking safe and accessible, I believe millions more Americans will choose them ... thereby making us a healthier, trimmer, more fit nation." --Congressman James Oberstar (D-MN) of the US House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee