CEDAR FALLS - A robust trail system and fledgling set of on-street bike routes helped Cedar Falls win a Bicycle Friendly Community honor.

Cedar Falls becomes the first Iowa community to win the award. The League of American Bicyclists, the organization which grants the designation, has recognized 108 communities out of 274 applicants as bicycle-friendly communities.

"We're very excited about it because it's just one more legitimate label we can use to communicate our quality of life," said Cedar Falls Tourism and Visitors Bureau Director Kim Burger. "I think it will be something we can use to recruit young professionals to our area."

The city first submitted an application a year ago. It earned an honorable mention at that time. Since then, the bicycle task force has been working in earnest to bring together on-street bicycle routes, as well as providing bicycle education and safety considerations.

That next step seems to have given the community the extra push it needed to win the award.

"The whole premise in the community is building on the trails," Crews said. "But the trails are more recreational than functional. The whole premise is try to use the streets in different ways."

Crews said the League of American Bicyclists will send the city a critique of it bicycle programs including areas that could use improvement.

The League of American Bicyclists analyzes community bicycle efforts toward engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement and evaluation.

It also awards Bicycle Friendly State honors. Iowa is not among the four states that have earned that award.

Cedar Falls is one of 13 cities to earn its first Bicycle Friendly Community designation this year. The award come with four levels: platinum, gold, silver and bronze. Cedar Falls earned a bronze award.

Burger said the new honor will be used in marketing. She said the Bicycle Friendly Community logo will be incorporated into some materials and the bureau also may obtain some signs.

"We're just learning what is available," she said.

In the past several years, the city has been looking at incorporating the interests of bicyclists into street design. Suggestions for better bicycle access have been made in a study for reconstructing University Avenue.

The announcement comes at the beginning of May, which happens to be national bike month. The bike task force will be hosting a series of Friday night rides to introduce the community to potential on-street bike routes.