ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Nick Miller knows.
As an Allentown kid, Miller, the current 14th Legislative District state senator, learned first-hand that the impact of the Community Bike Works’ Earn A Bike program goes far beyond, well, bikes.
“I was nine and 10 years old when I went through the Community Bike Works program and the Earn A Bike program,” Miller said. “It’s about having fun, but also about learning life lessons.”
Miller shared his memories of CBW during a news conference Thursday at Keck Park at which the organization got $634,122 for young bike education from the Lehigh Valley Transportation Study under the Alternative Set-Aside, or TASA program.
“Community Bike Works teaches kids about bikes. But it also teaches them how to improve lives, build our lives together and create a safe space."Becky A. Bradley, executive director of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission and LVTS secretary.
The Earn A Bike program partners students, ages 9 to high school graduates, with adult mentors for month-long classes in bike mechanics and safety.
While overhauling their bikes, students practice life skills by working collaboratively, solving problems and learning perseverance.
The Junior Earn a Bike Program mentors ages 7-8 in a similar way.
Community Bike Works has grown into a regional organization, engaging youth across the Lehigh Valley.
'It's an honor to help kids'
Each weekday, six CBW teams teach kids at each of its bike hubs — Keck Park and Franklin Park in Allentown, in Easton’s West Ward and in schools throughout the Lehigh Valley.
At the conclusion of the program, which mentors 600 children a year, each student gets to keep the bike on which he or she worked.
All bicycles in the Own a Bike program are donated to Community Bike Works.
“It’s an honor to help kids enjoy cycling and meet the area’s transportation goals,” CBW Executive Director Kim Schaffer said.
“The kids tell us riding a bike is how they get to school, to after-school and to see friends in the park.”
TSA is funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the state Transportation Department.
It directs money to community-based projects that expand travel choices and enhance the transportation experience by integrating biking, pedestrian safety and education program projects into the transportation network.
'Invests in human beings'
CBW provides important community programs that improve safety, mobility and air quality regionwide, officials said.
“Community Bike Works teaches kids about bikes,” said Becky A. Bradley, executive director of Lehigh Valley Planning Commission and LVTS secretary.
"Twenty percent of Earn A Bike students say the bike they get from the program is the first bike they’ve ever owned.”Becky A. Bradley, executive director of Lehigh Valley Planning Commission and LVTS secretary
“But it also teaches them how to improve lives, build our lives together and create a safe space.
“This program underscores the impact of federal funding.”
Students collectively biked 5,300 miles over the past year, Schaffer said.
“And 20 percent of Earn A Bike students say the bike they get from the program is the first bike they’ve ever owned,” she said.
State Rep. Peter Schweyer, D-134th District, said: “Community Bike Works isn’t just about bikes. It invests in human beings. It teaches kids to put down their cellphones and engage in one another.”
The Community Bike Works allocation is among $2.6 million in TASA funding issued by LVTS.
