In his speech addressing an international crowd at the Carfree Cities Conference, League of American Bicyclists executive director Andy Clarke announced that his organization will launch a Bicycle Friendly Business program.
In his address, Clarke also said the League plans to release the initial rankings of their recently launched Bicycle Friendly States program in September.
To a packed room of carfree and transportation advocates, Clarke sang the praises of Portland. He said one of the reasons Portland is “so awesome” is that we’ve “had the courage to lead.” He also laid out the many facets of our vibrant and diverse bike culture.
Now that Portland has been given the League’s highest honor (Platinum), Clarke said we have to compete for bike-friendliness with European cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen.
In his closing remarks, Clarke said, “We have to make transportation about people and the places we live… That’s something that the highway lobby does not have on their side.”