Charlottetown gets 1st bike fix-it station
New bike repair stand in Joe Ghiz Park unveiled during cycling event
Cyclists can do a quick tune-up on their bike at the city's first fix-up station in Joe Ghiz Park.
The red, stainless steel repair stand includes a tire pump, tools and a stand to hoist up your bike up in order to make minor repairs. There's also a QR code you can scan with your smartphone with videos explaining how to do basic repairs.
"Like if you needed to repair a tire, or put a new tube in, it's got the tools for that. There's Allen keys if you want to adjust your handlebars, or make any other adjustments on your bike, as well as wrenches and screwdrivers," says Ramona Doyle, Charlottetown's sustainability officer.
The station, which Doyle said cost around $2,000, was unveiled during the Cycle Our City event held Sunday, which included a bike repair clinic attended by about 60 people. Doyle said the city will offer more of these clinics at the stand in the future.
Hope for three or four more
"We definitely wanted to support cyclists in the city. It's right on the Confederation Trail, it's downtown, it's close to the Charlottetown community, so we wanted people to have an option where they could make those small repairs on their bike for no cost," said Doyle.
Doyle hopes three or four more of these fix-it stations can be installed along the trail in the city so more neighbourhoods have easy access to them. She said the city sees it as a way to encourage more people to bike.
"People that are picking cycling are keeping themselves healthy and active. They're also reducing air pollution from carbon emissions if they're driving to work everyday, so we want to see more of that in the city," said Doyle.
"And really $2,000 is a small price when it comes to making those big long-term changes in our community, that cost our taxpayers and our community health in the long run."
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