Bicycle Friendly Community

Cedar Falls, IA | Bronze Level

Community Highlights: The City of Cedar Falls recently invested a total of $410,000 in expansion of its recreational trail system - a 40 mile system of hard-surfaced trials. The addition of soft trails is being spear headed by the Cedar Valley Association for Soft Trails (CVAST), created in early 2009 as a way to add legitimate mountain biking, trail running, and hiking trails within the community. The group is dedicated to the maintenance, promotion, and continued growth of sustainable soft trails in the Cedar Valley. The Mayor recently appointed a Bike Task Force comprised of volunteers representing City Council, the University of Northern Iowa, the Cedar Trails Partnership and Cedar Valley Cyclists, local businesses, and the Visitors Bureau.

Most Compelling Community Statistic: In 2001, the Iowa Northland Regional Council of Governments conducted a trail count and estimated that an average of 610,000 trips were taken on the trail system that year. This does not account for bicyclists on the streets.