BETHLEHEM, Pa. — New home, same mission.
The Coalition for Appropriate Transportation celebrated its new venue on the first floor of the Walnut Street Garage with a ribbon cutting on Friday.
The 2,500-square-foot space that will serve as CAT’s bike cooperative was filled with bicycles and racks and workstations and tools and smiles and well-wishers wall to wall.
The expanded room will house do-it-yourself bike repair and maintenance, hands-on workshops and classes and a central start location for community bike rides.
With a main focus on bicycles, the 32-year nonprofit is dedicated to promoting, educating and advocating for sustainable, safe and accessible transportation in the Lehigh Valley.
CAT envisions a world where bicycling, walking/ADA accessibility and public transportation prevail.
“What we see here is a place to make transportation that’s sustainable and affordable.”Scott Slingerland, CAT executive director
“What we see here is a place to make transportation that’s sustainable and affordable,” said Scott Slingerland, CAT executive director.
“This is a place where anyone can learn bicycle mechanics. Anyone can build a bike for little or no money. We have a lot of volunteers who come in and help one another.”
CAT refurbishes and distributes more than 300 bikes annually, with 350 bikes rebuilt and renewed in 2025, including 150-200 youth bikes for children in financial hardship.
Volunteers spend an average of four hours per bike, supporting transportation and holiday programs.
Folks go to the new location and fix bikes which can then be adopted by people. Others build the bikes for themselves for their daily transportation.
“It’s a beautiful thing when people come together and work together,” Slingerland said. “It’s also a place where people can volunteer, socialize and learn. It could be a parent, a retiree, parents with young kids — anyone.”
'A new beginning'
The event was hosted by the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. The new venue is a partnership with the City of Bethlehem and the Bethlehem Parking Authority.
“CAT focuses on the community,” said Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds. “This shows the potential of what we can do by working together.
“This is not just about an opening; it’s about a new beginning.”
Added Tara Zrinski, Northampton County executive: “CAT shows we have no boundaries.”
CAT received certificates of appreciation from Zrinski and state Sen. Lisa Boscola, Lehigh/Northampton. State Rep. Steve Samuelson, D-Northampton, also offered remarks of thanks.
CAT Board President Bill Meiklejohn said the organization has been actively looking for a new facility for the past three years, as it looked to find a larger space than was available at 135 W. Broad St. in Bethlehem.
“We started working with the parking authority, the mayor’s office and the community and they came up with this space for us,” he said.
“This is basically triple the size of our last facility. We’d have 12 people working and touching elbows in the other place. We now have five work stands; the other place had two.”
The new location will allow CAT to increase its bike output.
“We have a holiday bike program that’s really grown,” Meiklejohn said. ““The past couple of years we’ve had a waiting list that we couldn’t fill the need because of space. This facility will help us meet that need.”
Slingerland thanked the 75 major donors for contributing more than $100,000 to help with the new location.
For more information, go to www.lvcat.org.
