U of A is Awarded Gold Status as a Bike Friendly University

Eric Boles

Confluence of the Oak Ridge paved trail and Fayetteville Traverse trail on the U of A campus.

Efforts to make the University of Arkansas campus more bike friendly continue to be appreciated locally while earning higher levels of recognition nationally. The League of American Bicyclists recently announced the U of A's Gold award designation as a part of the Bicycle Friendly University program — putting the university in select company with only 30 other institutions including Colorado, Harvard, Berkeley, UCLA and Kentucky, the only other SEC institution to earn the award.

"This award is an outcome of all the work done to design our campus environment for people to bike safely and conveniently while contributing to healthier, more sustainable futures," said Emma Armendariz, campus active transportation coordinator. 

In recent years, the campus has made many significant improvements on campus including:

• Campus speed limits reduced to 20 mph
• Fayetteville Traverse
• Tsa La Gi Bike Park
• Oak Knoll Trail
• Freshman Experience Loop
• Oak Ridge paved trail extension
• Arkansas Avenue bike lane
• Service Drive contraflow bike lane
• Full-time active transportation coordinator
• Pedicabs during the 2022 football season
• Robust shared e-scooter and e-bike program
• UA Commuter Menu tool
• Complete Maple Street design
• Adohi Hall Bicycle Lounge
• Partnership to give refurbished bikes to international students
• Cruise to Campus Wednesday program
• New trail maintence, bike maintenance, and biking classes
• Winning the National Bike Month Challenge

"We've made it to the moon, but we're heading for mars," said Eric Boles, director of the Office for Sustainability. "If you'd like to lend a hand, please choose to commute by bicycle at least once a week and wear an unusually large smile. We need more students, faculty and staff to lead by example." 

Commuting by bicycle aligns neatly with student success. Students who choose to cruise to campus by bicycle save time, reduce cost, avoid traffic, and are physically healthier. If that's not enough, a recent scientific publication found that cycling was the primary predictor for all four facets of orientation towards the common good. The benefits of cycling may have a greater impact on our lives than previously realized. 

The Bicycle Friendly University program highlights colleges and universities for promoting and providing a more bikeable campus for students, faculty, staff and visitors. Efforts are evaluated in the areas of engineering, encouragement, education, enforcement and evalulation/planning. 

The university received Gold status in the Bicycle Friendly University program in 2019 after receiving Silver in 2016 and an honorable mention in 2014. Only nine schools have received Platinum status, the League of American Bicyclists' highest award.

To learn more about cycling at the University of Arkansas, visit bike.uark.edu

About the Office for Sustainability: The mission of the University of Arkansas Office for Sustainability (OFS) is to motivate, facilitate, and coordinate responsible practices through partnerships with students, faculty, and staff across all campus departments. The OFS uses the campus as a living laboratory by overseeing the implementation of the University of Arkansas environmental goals.