10/20/2009 - NEWS RELEASE
City of Portland
389 Congress Street
Portland, Maine 04101
www.portlandmaine.gov
CONTACT: Nicole Clegg, 207-756-8173, 207-272-4477 (cell) nicoleclegg@portlandmaine.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 20, 2009

Portland Receives Honorable Mention as Bicycle Friendly Community
City earns top marks for quality of life and efforts to improve bicycling conditions

PORTLAND, Maine – Today, the League of American Bicyclists announced its Fall 2009 Bicycle Friendly Communities, including an honorable mention for the City of Portland, the second community in Maine to receive recognition from the organization since 2003. Portland joins thirty-five communities that received recognition for efforts to promote bicycling and improve bikeway systems. This year, the city began a major effort to expand the number of bike routes/lanes on major streets including Deering Avenue, Forest Avenue, Ocean Avenue and a section of Park Avenue. This expansion will add four and a half miles to the existing twelve miles of bike lanes in the city. The city was also lauded for its extensive trail system which provides more than thirty-five miles of surface trails open to mountain bikes.

“It is gratifying to receive recognition from the League of American Bicyclists for the city’s efforts to improve and expand the city’s bicycle transportation and recreation networks,” remarked Mayor Jill Duson. “Through these efforts, we are turning Portland into a community that welcomes and encourages biking -- whether as a mode of transportation or a chance to improve one’s health. As we begin to implement new policies and long term strategies, I am confident Portland will graduate from an honorable mention to one of the select communities labeled bike friendly.”

For more information about Bicycle Friendly Communities, visit www.bicyclefriendlyamerica.org.
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