Grant funds study of biking barriers
A $78,624 grant from Metro's Regional Travel Options program will help the Community Cycling Center promote bike transportation across Portland.
The Portland nonprofit is using the research, presented last week, to develop culturally specific programs to make biking an easier transportation option.
"We believe the bicycle is a great tool to build a healthy community, but to make bicycling an affordable and healthy transportation option we need to make it more accessible," said Alison Hill Graves, executive director of the Community Cycling Center, in a press release.
Using a combination of surveys and focus groups involving 260 people, the center found that:
- Almost 100 percent of study participants were interested in or did ride a bike.
- Sixty percent identified cost of bicycle purchase and repair as a major obstacle to bike riding.
- Safety concerns fell into three categories: traffic safety, personal safety and bicycle security.
- A Portland State University bicycle network gap analysis, conducted in June 2009 for the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030, found the city’s bicycle network is weakest in areas with high populations of diverse communities.
The Community Cycling Center is working with partners to develop several programs, including a pilot program for bike repair education.
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