By Karin Kliewer
Published June 2001
As summer approaches Recycle Cycles moves into its second year at The Working Centre’s 43 Queen Street location. Already, it has been a busy spring around the shop and on any public day (Thursdays and Saturdays 12-4 pm) the space is bustling with the activity of those who participate in using or providing bicycles as transportation in our community. The eclectic team of volunteer mechanics that come together at the shop consist of retired folk, people out of work with some extra time on their hands, high school students fulfilling mandatory volunteer hours, youth with community service hours, newcomers to Canada who seek to practice English while fixing a bike for their own use, university students, community members practicing Spanish, French or Albanian as they help various customers, and many more. No experience is required to be welcomed at the shop, and there is never a lack of tasks (such as recycling, fixing, sorting, and cleaning) as the volunteers do their best to learn from each other while helping an average of nearly 50 visitors per session.
Transportation by car or bus is often an expensive barrier to getting around. At a recent workshop entitled “Reducing Poverty in Urban Areas”, Michael Parkinson of the House of Friendship Emergency Food Hamper Program, discussed our current urban design with a person’s ability to escape poverty. He stated, “The lack of choice in housing and transportation has a very dramatic impact on the mobility of persons in our community in terms of being able to access opportunities for work, education, food, medicine, recreation, and community participation… Housing and transportation remain at the top of household expenditures in Canada, yet the development of alternatives remains elusive, and for many, a permanent barrier to escaping poverty in the midst of plenty.”
Recycle Cycles as a volunteer-run shop that operates on donations rather than established prices, allows bicycles to become an affordable transportation alternative for anyone who needs one.
Recycle Cycles is, however, more than a downtown bicycle shop where bikes are sold. Recycle Cycles is a place for education, as bike skills are passed from one person to the next. The mechanics at Recycle Cycles like to joke that “we won’t do things for you—but we’ll do them with you,” when they work with the public to teach basic bike maintenance skills while repairing bikes together. Passing on these skills empowers riders to feel more secure and familiar with their bikes.
