Needs
1. Ride Ready Repair: Our Ride Ready Repair program serviced over 1500 bicycles in 2023, and in 2024 we are launching an internship program in partnership with Community Shop Class on Stockton Blvd. to teach young adults the basics of bike repair and e-bike retrofits. The ultimate goal is to launch a bike collective on Stockton Blvd. that will support residents who live in the adjacent neighborhoods. This program is growing, and additional funds will take care of disposable items - tubes, tires, chains, cables etc. We also want to secure a set of tools purchased for the co-hort who complete the program.
2. BikeMatch: We launched our BikeMatch program in 2020 during the pandemic and it has steadily grown. This program matches donated bikes to people who need a bike. To date, we've matched over 200 people who needed a bicycle with one donated by someone who had one to give. Each bicycle is refurbished, and the new owner is provided a set of lights, a helmet and a lock for safety. We need funding to move this project into a year-round program.
3. Portable bikelane sweeper: the City of Sacramento has two small street sweepers that can fit within the protected bikelanes in the central city. These sweepers do not pick up all of the debris in our bikelanes on a regular basis due to the low frequency of sweeping scheduled by public works. A new creation; a portable bikelane sweeper that is hauled by bicycle will take care of the hazards of debris in our bikelanes. We would like to purchase two of these sweepers for sue to help keep Midtown's bikelanes clean.
4. Bike education classes: We get asked weekly if we had bicycle education classes to teach adults how to ride a bike. With more young people ditching their cars and wanting to use a bicycle for daily transportation, we would like them to learn how to ride and so they can navigate our streets with confidence. We would like to launch our bike education curriculum, but need resources to pay for our instructors.