all the difference.]
Two months ago, Southeast Uplift started a Bike Buddy Pilot Project and they’ve just released a recap of how it went.
The goal of the project was to connect newbies (New Riders) with mentors (Bike Buddies).
According to SEUL, the program succeeded,
“Most New Riders expressed an increased level of confidence in urban cycling and reported bicycling more often because of the project. New relationships were formed between citizens, and Bike Mentors expressed a level of satisfaction with their participation and a feeling of pride and accomplishment in the improvement of the cycling skills of their Bike Buddies.”
“Thank you so much for organizing this program…I feel confident as a new rider and am likely to continue to commute through the winter.”
–program participant
SEUL worked with many community partners including two graduate interns from PSU’s Masters in Public Health program who created a brochure, surveys, a news release and supportive materials for the project. Bike Mentors received training from PDOT’s Transportation Options staff.
SEUL hopes to find funding so they can take what they’ve learned from this pilot project and do a more “robust program” this Spring. For more information about the program contact SEUL Neighborhood Planner Gary Berger at (503) 232-0010 x314, gary [at] southeastuplift [dot] org.