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Austin a finalist in Copenhagen bike idea contest
One of the most bicycle friendly cities in the world is smitten by a biking idea from Austin.
Austin was “short-listed” this week as a contender in a world-wide contest sponsored by the city of Copenhagen on how it can become an even better bicycle city.
In all, 37 cities from 17 countries around the world submitted ideas. Austin’s idea, based on the public-private partnership between Yellow Bike Project and the city of Austin, made the top six.
Yellow Bike Project operated in a free city of Austin warehouse for a decade. In 2009, the non-profit organization, run by volunteers, signed a 100-year lease for a small parcel of land in east Austin. It built a self-financed $300,000 community bike shop there where the public can go to borrow tools and get tips on maintaining their bicycles.
The deal guaranteed long-term sustainability for Yellow Bike. More than 2,000 people visit the shop each year to learn how to care for their bicycles.
“If you’re really embracing bikes as transportation, there needs to be place to borrow tools and learn how to do things,” says Annick Beaudet, manager of the City of Austin’s Bicycle Program. “A place to breed the culture. It can’t just be retail.”
Austin leaders suggested that the city of Copenhagen could encourage even more people there to bike if they set aside land for a community bike shop and found volunteers to run it.
Three contest winners will be announced next week. Read more about the contest here.
The other finalists in the contest were from Sweden, The Netherlands, Greece, Germany and Spain. Ideas ranged from a digital network that helps cyclists figure out bike routes to secure downtown bike sheds where people can store their bikes to prevent theft and vandalism.
The brains behind the top three ideas will participate in an idea forum next week in Copenhagen. If Austin is chosen, representatives would likely participate by computer conferencing.
“Austin is doing some things that are very unique — world-level unique,” Beaudet says. “We have our shortcomings, but we also do things that are great and this is an example.”
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By Tim
November 13, 2010 7:27 AM | Link to this
wow!