BRATTLEBORO — Those who have ever tried to find a place to park their bike downtown when it was raining or snowing know sheltered bicycle parking spots are few and far between.
The Brattleboro Coalition for Active Transportation (BCAT) announces the installation of a new bike parking shelter over the existing bike parking at the Brattleboro Food Co-op. The shelter will provide cover for up to eight bikes.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at noon on Monday, Oct 30, on the Whetstone Pathway. All community members are invited to attend.
"Providing covered bike parking is best practice when it comes to encouraging bicycling for transportation," BCAT volunteer Alice Charkes said in a news release.
Charkes said BCAT accomplished this project with help from key partners. Volunteers generated the idea and started fundraising and organizing for the shelter several years ago. Many community members donated small amounts and several organizations also chipped in larger sums, including Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Vermont.
The Brattleboro Food Co-op provided about half of the funding for the shelter, which will be located on its property along the Whetstone Pathway. The town of Brattleboro also played a key role and contributed to the project by installing the shelter.
Statewide walk/bike/roll advocacy group Local Motion sourced and provided a discount on the shelter, completed permitting and site plans, and assisted with coordination of the initiative. Much of this assistance was possible thanks to a Mobility and Transportation Innovations grant from the Vermont Agency of Transportation.
Brattleboro Coalition for Active Transportation is a citizens' group dedicated to making walking and biking in Brattleboro safer and more enjoyable for everyone. For more information about getting involved, contact them at bcat-bratt@googlegroups.com.
This Town and Village item was submitted to The Commons.