Mi’kma’ki/Nova Scotia – The Ecology Action Centre is launching a new guidebook aimed at empowering Nova Scotians to create community-led bike repair spaces as a means to break down barriers to active transportation. The EAC says the guidebook, Repair, Recycle, Ride: A How-To Guide for Creating Community Bike Repair Spaces, was developed in response to a growing need for inclusive, public-led spaces that give Nova Scotians access to the tools, resources and education necessary to choose active transportation in their own lives.
“For over three years we’ve been going into communities with our Pop-Up Bike Hub [the EAC’s mobile bike repair shop], and the interest in these kinds of spaces is clear,” says Simone Mutabazi, community cycling activation coordinator with the EAC. “It’s all well and good for us to say that people need to choose active and sustainable transportation, but not everyone has access to the resources they need to make that choice. Creating community-led bike repair spaces is a great way to help bridge that gap.”
The guidebook outlines step-by-step processes for setting up and managing a successful bike repair space, as well as insights into the many benefits these spaces provide – benefits that Jessie Crawley, community outreach officer with the EAC, says go beyond just helping people fix their bikes.
“These spaces are wonderful for building community in general,” says Crawley. “They can provide a welcoming, safe space for social connection and somewhere to host events, workshops and other activities that promote sustainable transportation. By providing the resources they need to become self-sufficient, we can empower cyclists of all skill levels and backgrounds to make choices that are better for their own health and the health of the environment.”
With roughly 30 per cent of Nova Scotia’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions coming from the transportation sector, Mutabazi says that empowering people to choose low-carbon transportation options is more important than ever.
“We know we need to decarbonize our transportation sector in order to reach our GHG emissions reductions targets,” says Mutabazi. “By helping communities create spaces like these, we can break down barriers that hinder people from making more sustainable transportation choices and help them build community connections and have fun at the same time.”
Repair, Recycle, Ride: A How-To Guide for Creating Community Bike Repair Spaces is now available to download on the EAC website.
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