The Newark Bike Project works to make getting and repairing bikes easier to encourage their use around the city.
The community bike and repair shop in the Newark Shopping Center is a nonprofit run by volunteers that help sell bicycles and teach community members how to repair their own bikes.
Jamie Magee helped start the volunteer-based Newark Bike Project in 2011, getting inspiration from the Urban Bike Project in Wilmington.
“In addition to those economic factors, the other thing that helps create more infrastructure is more cycling usage…” Magee said. “When there's good infrastructure, more people cycle, but also as more people use those infrastructure, that's the precedent for adding another bike path.”
Newark already has separated bike lanes with their own traffic lights. Magee said he hopes to see more bike paths where people want to go – whether that’s to run errands or go out to lunch.
The Newark Bike Project offers classes, teaching people how to work on their own bikes. Magee added they also have bikes of all kinds for sale at Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace rates, with between $100 and $200.
“You also get the added value of the recourse that you can bring the bike back here with any problems and we will adjust things,” Magee said. “So any bike that was sold as a rideable bike, we’ll keep it rideable for the first couple visits until you've got a handle on it yourself.”
If someone can’t afford a bicycle, the organization has a form people can fill out to get a free bike.
Parts are also offered at discounted rates.
“We do that in conjunction with other social service organizations, so anyone who's working with an employment agency or any type of shelter or other social service organization, even a school nurse can write a letter of recommendation for a family if one of the parents or the kid needs a bike to get around,” Magee said.
From there, volunteers can help find the right bike and helmet for the cyclist. They also supply riders with a lock and flat tire repair kit.
Magee added the organization’s goals are similar to those of other community bike shops.
“We're trying to empower cyclists and would-be cyclists to use bicycles as a sustainable form of transportation that is also economical and accessible for them,” Magee said. “And sometimes that includes not just giving them a bike or helping them fix up their bike, but teaching them how to maintain it so they can rely on it.”
The project’s educational programs don’t make the shop money. Magee said sometimes, they lose money, but they’re part of the mission.
