Bicycle Friendly Communities

Louisville, KY | Bronze Level

Encouragement: Mayor Jerry E. Abramson has embraced an initiative to make Louisville a bicycle-friendly community. The bicycle movement in Louisville has gained momentum and blossomed. He was instrumental in hosting the first-ever regional Bicycle Summit in Louisville in February 2005. A Bicycle Task Force was created and the mayor meets with them periodically to receive updates on activities and make sure that the community is on track. As a result of the Bike Summit and the mayor’s drive, the city has committed to $85 million in projects over the next ten years with over $20 million already raised and matched by private donors.

Engineering: Louisville has built more bicycle facilities in the past year and a half than in several decades prior. The city is developing a 100-mile “Metro Loop” trail to encircle the entire county, more than half of which is either complete or under development.