The League of American Bicyclists recognized R&M with a Silver-level Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB) award, renewing their designation for another four years. The firm is one of seven BFBs in Alaska and one of two Silver-level businesses.
With this designation, R&M joins a group of 1,582 current BFBs nationwide, including everything from government agencies, Fortune 500 companies, bike shops and other employers, all united in a commitment to transform American workplaces to be more welcoming to customers and employees who bike. The BFB award recognizes an organization’s contributions in shifting up and accelerating the movement to build a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone.
R&M has been a BFB since 2012, previously at the Bronze level and advancing to Silver level in 2018. The firm originally decided to become a BFB because of their commitment to their community and employees. Participating in this program helps promote community involvement with participation in local Bike-to-Work days, a fun work environment and employee wellness. R&M encourages bicycling as an easy option for transportation and provides amenities such as convenient and secure bike parking, locker rooms and shower facilities, and bicycle education materials and classes.
“Biking is one of my favorite things in life. I commute to work by bike in the summer and get out on my road bike as much as I can. It’s a great workout and so much fun,” said Ryan Goentzel, PE, a Project Engineer in R&M’s Surface Transportation Group. “I’m happy R&M supports the biking community in Alaska and provides amenities like a bike cage to keep my bike secure and dry at work. The Anchorage area has many great roads and trails I use often and I hope we can continue investing and improving our infrastructure for bikes.”
One of R&M’s focuses has been on helping improve bicycle infrastructure in Alaska through the projects they choose to pursue. As more and more people recognize the benefits of non-motorized transportation modes (bicyclists, pedestrians, public transit), the demand for related infrastructure in the state has grown, particularly in Anchorage. R&M has made equal access a priority on all their transportation projects and actively pursue projects that plan for and improve non-motorized facilities.
“Cycling to work is good for my physical and mental health, saves me money and results in one less car on the road, which is good for the community,” said Bob Pintner, PE, R&M’s Group Manager of Geotechnical Engineering & Geology. “I feel strongly that improvements to the bicycle infrastructure will make bike commuting a viable option to more people and make our community a better place to live.”
R&M’s non-motorized facility project work includes the Alaska Long Trail: Anchorage to Mat-Su Reconnaissance Engineering Study, Chugach Foothills NE Trail Connector, extension of the Gird to Bird Pathway as part of the Seward Highway Improvements MP 100-105 project, Chester Creek Singletrack Trails and Anchorage Metropolitan Area Transportation System Non-Motorized Plan Update, as well as several road improvement projects that include the rehabilitation or addition of non-motorized facilities. This work has helped the firm build relationships with others in the community that support non-motorized transportation modes and provides an avenue to affect change through related infrastructure planning and design.
Moving forward, R&M will have access to a variety of tools and technical assistance from the League to become even more bicycle-friendly and plans to continue working towards making Anchorage even more welcoming to people who bike.
About the Bicycle Friendly America Program
To learn more about building a Bicycle Friendly America, including the Bicycle Friendly Community, Bicycle Friendly State, Bicycle Friendly Business and Bicycle Friendly University programs, visit www.bikeleague.org/BFA.
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