State grant program awards $330,000 to reduce car use in underserved communities – BikePortland

Bike restore clinics for homeless Portlanders, free bikes for refugees and immigrants, an electrical cargo-bike library for underserved youth — these are simply a number of the 26 initiatives which have been awarded grants by the Oregon Division of Transportation’s Modern Mobility Program.

This program was the thought of former Oregon Transportation Fee member Alando Simpson. It was launched in 2022 and is funded by way of $15 million put aside (out of a complete of $412 million) from Oregon’s share of the federal Infrastructure Funding and Jobs Act handed in 2021 and $5 million from the state’s normal fund.

ODOT has awarded over $330,000 in microgrants this go-round. Not like the primary spherical of grants in 2022, which have been restricted in measurement to simply $5,000, these newest awards went as much as $15,000. Desire for the grants are given to communities which might be traditionally underserved and the thought is to make an instantaneous influence by funding initiatives that may scale back automobile use.

The grants have been handed out statewide. Under are a number of notable ones from Multnomah County:

Blanchet Home of Hospitality ($13,000): Host reoccurring bike restore clinic for individuals with low incomes and other people experiencing homelessness.

Free Bikes 4 Kidz Portland ($14,895): Broaden bicycle security programming and bicycle distribution to succeed in Veterans, immigrants, refugees, and college students and households of Title 1 colleges.

ROSE Group Improvement Company ($15,000): Host bike camps and learn-to-ride occasions and buy a bicycle fleet for youth at Rose CDC’s reasonably priced housing complexes.

Bike Works by p:ear ($15,000): Host varied energetic transportation outreach occasions and supply bike security gear to younger, low revenue and homeless people.

Group Biking Middle ($15,000): Assist youth bicycle mechanic programming that happens in different excessive colleges.

Play Develop Study ($15,000): Host neighborhood bike rides and supply bicycle security schooling. Create an e-cargo bike lending library in partnership with River Metropolis Bicycles.

WashCo Bikes ($14,990): Broaden bicycle security programming and bicycle distribution to succeed in the Hispanic neighborhood and youth and households of Title 1 colleges.

Subsequent up for this system are extra grant funding cycles and an growth into research and evaluation grants. To study extra, try the Modern Mobility Program web page on ODOT’s web site.