Clermont Interim City Manager Susan Dauderis and Mayor Tim Murry acknowledge the city’s Community Champion Award at the March 23 City Council meeting at the Clermont City Center.

Clermont’s bicycle friendliness has earned state recognition.

The Florida Department of Transportation’s Alert Today Florida program recently honored the City of Clermont with a Community Champion Award for its significant contributions to bicyclist safety.

Clermont was one of 23 communities awarded; it was the only city in Lake County, as well as one of just three cities in Central Florida, to make the list.

Clermont Interim City Manager Susan Dauderis and Mayor Tim Murry acknowledged the accomplishment during Florida Bicycle Month at the March 23 City Council meeting at the Clermont City Center.

“The City of Clermont appreciates this state recognition,” Dauderis says. “As the Choice of Champions, we will continue to be champions for bicyclist safety.”

This was the first time FDOT gave out the awards. To qualify, localities had to have been designated a Bicycle Friendly Community through the League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Friendly America Program, as well as on Alert Today Florida’s High Priority Counties list.

“Thank you, City of Clermont, for your unwavering dedication to your community, our most vulnerable road users, and the citizens of our Sunshine State,” Trenda McPherson, state bicycle/pedestrian safety program manager in the FDOT Traffic Safety Office, writes in a letter. “Your hard work ensures more people will arrive at their destinations safely.”

Clermont Interim City Manager Susan Dauderis and Mayor Tim Murry acknowledged the city’s Community Champion Award at the March 23 City Council meeting at the Clermont City Center. Clermont’s bicycle friendliness has earned it several recognitions in the past, including its 2018 designation as a Florida Trail Town by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Florida Greenways & Trails System. Clermont is uniquely located in the middle of Florida’s Coast-to-Coast Connector, which is funded to eventually connect the trails continuously from the west coast (St. Petersburg) to the east coast (Titusville). Clermont’s scenic, paved, multi-use trails offer residents and visitors alike an opportunity to explore Central Florida. Clermont is home to champion triathletes, bicyclists, Olympians and other active lifestyle enthusiasts.