Bike Manchester awarded $3,000 grant for bicycle racks

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Members of Bike Manchester during a recent meeting.

Bike Manchester, a local bicycling advocacy group will receive a $3,000 grant to install bike racks at various locations around the city.

The grants were announced recently by Central New Hampshire Bicycling Coalition, which awarded the grant through its inaugural Community Bicycle Grant Program.

“Bike Manchester is excited for this opportunity to help meet a growing demand for better bicycle infrastructure in the Queen City,” said group organizer Will Stewart.

He said the $3,000 CNHBC grant will be supplemented with another $3,000 in matching funds donated by area businesses and property owners, resulting in $6,000 in total, which should be enough for at least six new bike racks.

Although bike racks exist in Manchester, they are scattered and often not easily visible and accessible to bicyclists, says Stewart. That can be a deterrent to those who might otherwise consider opting to ride a bike to a downtown destination.

Safest bet for your bike is chaining it to a pole.
Safest bet for your bike is chaining it to a pole.

“And those who do choose to ride bicycles as a means of transportation in Manchester are often forced to lock their bicycles to whatever sturdy, fixed object can be found nearest to their destination — street signs, utility poles, fences, even sewer grates,” Stewart said.

Locating the bike racks depends on which businesses have interest in hosting them.

“We welcome inquiries and applications from any business or commercial property owner who would like to see a rack on or near their property,” Stewart said.

Other organizations receiving Community Bicycle Grant fund are:

  • $2,500 to the Winnipesaukee River Trail Association for construction of the Gulf Brook Bridge in Tilton;
  • $1,500 to the Ashland HEAL Bike-Pedestrian Committee for parts and tools to repair bikes for its “Re-cycle” program;
  • $500 to the Laconia Area Bicycle Exchange for bike parts, locks and helmets

The grants were established through money raised from the annual bicycle swap the coalition holds at S&W Sports in Concord.

 

About this Author

Carol Robidoux

PublisherManchester Ink Link

Longtime NH journalist and publisher of ManchesterInkLink.com. Loves R&B, German beer, and the Queen City!