The nonprofit League of American Bicyclists announced Bowling Green as one of four “Bicycle Friendly Communities” in Kentucky — a recognition of commitments to improving bicycling conditions and a factor anticipated to work in the city’s favor when pursuing grant funding.

On Friday, the Bowling Green Warren County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) BikeWalkBG initiative announced the recognition’s fifth-level, bronze award. The non-monetary certification can help when applying for grants and different programs oriented around multimodal transportation, according to MPO Coordinator Carrol Duckworth; for instance, these could for bicyclists, crosswalks, river walks, sidewalks or greenways.

“As we look at grants, they a lot of times ask what programs are you currently doing, what certifications do you currently have, what can you show us that you mean business and that you’re qualified to receive funds,” Duckworth said. “This is another certification we can use to show we are pressing forward and have serious intent to use the funds being provided for us in different programs.”

One, for example, is a relatively small, roughly $2,000 grant that the LAB itself hands out, which the MPO would use for bicycling education.

The MPO is set to receive a scorecard measuring how it did and what needs to be worked on.

It was Bowling Green’s first application for the award. Duckworth believes numerous area efforts have contributed to the win.

In addition to infrastructure improvements for bicyclists and pedestrians, these may include the constructed greenway areas such as along Gordon Avenue, Double Springs Road and Hobson Grove, and multiuse paths like the one along Smallhouse Road from Scottsville Road to Campbell Lane, which can be used by pedestrians, bicyclists and those operating other nonmotorized vehicles such as electric bicycles. Other possible contributors are the Warren County Safety Park beside The Fringe and the Warren County Bicycle Coop at the Fringe.

There’s also BikeWalkBG’s school education program, where the MPO conducts bicycling rodeos in the school systems.

The MPO pursued the application through its BikeWalkBG movement, which seeks to encourage biking and walking for all of Bowling Green.

“We’re amazed when we go to public schools when we’re teaching safety rules for riding a bike, how many fourth graders don’t know how to ride a bike or aren’t comfortable or don’t want to ride a bike in front of everybody, or need training wheels,” Duckworth said. “It’s just good for human development, good for human interaction …

Providing this has been for physical, mental, social development, all sorts of interactions with other human beings, good financially for local businesses — people who ride bikes tend to stop more at local shops … and (it’s) good for the environment.”

Louisville, Lexington and Calvert City were the other winners of a metal-designation award, while Morehead was an honorable mention.

Going forward, one of the main goals for the MPO is to continue providing education on bicycling safety and opportunities. For infrastructure, it would be to in time complete greenway access all around the City of Bowling Green, which is in the works.

That project is being executed a piece at a time, he said. It would also explain why some greenways are located where they are, as the MPO plans for future connections.

The MPO is also looking at transportation initiatives that may come up for its implementation, from road-widening to sidewalk and multipath initiatives.