(Photo © J. Maus)
The Community Cycling Center has won a $10,000 grant to build a bike skills park and community bike hub in the New Columbia neighborhood of North Portland.
“As early as next summer,” reads a CCC press release, “residents at New Columbia will have a new facility in their neighborhood where they can hone their bike handling skills and access tools to keep their bikes in good repair.”
“There are so many bikes at New Columbia in need of basic repair, but we haven’t had the skills or tools… we are excited to train community members how to fix bikes and have a place to store tools.”
— Egbevado Ananouko, resident of New Columbia
The grant comes from national bike non-profit Bikes Belong.
According to the CCC, the new facility will promote bicycling skills and active play for kids and teens. It will include a skills course, pump track and a bike repair center. They also plan to work with “We All Can Ride,” a volunteer group of local residents who will help the CCC plan, maintain and manage the project.
In addition to the $10,000 from Bikes Belong, CCC has garnered financial support from Home Forward, ODS, and Bike Gallery. The CCC is also working with the Northwest Trail Alliance, a local non-profit with experience and expertise in building skills parks and pump tracks.
Far from an isolated effort, this new bike facility is a natural extension of work the CCC has done at New Columbia to broaden access to bicycling in areas of Portland that aren’t usually thought of as cycling hotbeds. The CCC has manged an earn-a-bike program at New Columbia since 2009. That effort has spurred interest and inspiration from residents like Egbevado Ananouko, who started the We All Can Ride group.
“There are so many bikes at New Columbia in need of basic repair, but we haven’t had the skills or tools. With support from the Community Cycling Center, we are excited to train community members how to fix bikes and have a place to store tools,” says Ananouko.
Learn more at CommunityCyclingCenter.org.