Cyclists in Port Alberni celebrated the opening of a public bike repair station at Harbour Quay during a bike jamboree on Sunday, Nov. 3.
Three bike fix-it stands have been installed across town as part of a collaboration between Cycle Alberni and the local mountain biking community: one at Harbour Quay, one at the beginning of Maquinna Trail and one at the skate park next to Wood Elementary School. They include tools like screwdrivers, tire levers, wrenches and even a bike pump.
“They exist in other communities,” said Cycle Alberni co-founder Sarah Thomas. “We thought it’d be nice to have it here.”
The stands were put in at the end of October, and Thomas said she has already seen them in use. A few members of the public have expressed concern about thieves, but Thomas said the stands and tools have been bolted down and secured to prevent this.
“Honestly, if they vanish, they vanish,” said Thomas. “I think we have a lot of people that ride bikes here and having the tools is important.
“Hopefully people will respect the fact that it is a community asset.”
Sponsors for the project include the City of Port Alberni, the Jumping Slug Cyclery, the Blue Marlin Inn and Kingsway Pub.
Sunday marked Cycle Alberni’s fourth annual autumn bike jamboree, which comes at the end of Go By Bike Week in B.C. It’s a tradition each fall for Cycle Alberni to celebrate a new bike-related project in the Alberni Valley.
Previous projects included bike lanes and sharrows painted on Port Alberni streets, a bike rack program and a pilot bike education project at Wood Elementary School.
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