The League of American Bicyclists has again recognized the Johnson County Downtown Campus with a Gold-level Bicycle Friendly Business award. The campus first earned the designation in 2017.

The Johnson County Downtown Campus is being honored for such efforts as sharing safe riding guidelines in multiple languages and hosting educational events and fairs. Newer recognized activities include an Iowa City Area Development Group (ICAD)-Merge partnership to share advice with local businesses and governments on how to be bike friendly, and a series of “bike commuter” profiles in the employee newsletter.

Increased financial support from the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to the Iowa City Bike Library, which provides affordable bikes to people in the community and focuses on bicycle equity, education and accessibility, was also an important activity.

“Johnson County has been an active supporter of bicycling in our community for a number of years,” said Royceann Porter, chair of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors. “We are honored to again receive recognition as a Gold-level Bicycle Friendly Business.”

As part of the Bicycle Friendly Business network, Johnson County will have access to tools and technical assistance from the League to become even more welcoming to people who bike for work or recreation. More than 1,400 businesses nationwide have earned the League’s business designation, and in this latest round, 32 new and renewing businesses were recognized, said Bill Nesper, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists

“We are pleased to honor these Bicycle Friendly Businesses, who are helping to get more people on bikes in ways that highlight that the benefits of biking go beyond just the individual or the workplace and into our communities,” Nesper said.

The Johnson County Downtown Campus renewed Gold designation will be active through 2025. There are 28 Bicycle Friendly Businesses in Iowa, including 13 in Johnson County. In addition, eight Iowa cities are Bicycle Friendly Communities, including Iowa City—Silver, Coralville—Bronze, and University Heights—Bronze. The University of Iowa has achieved Silver in the Universities category. 

To learn more about the Bicycle Friendly Businesses program, visit the League online at www.bikeleague.org/business. To access state lists of businesses and communities that have earned awards, visit https://www.bikeleague.org/bfa/awards.