Bike cooperative gets rolling

By John Bennett

October 6, 2007

Savannah will soon to be home to the second (that I know of) bicycle cooperative in the state of Georgia (the other is in Atlanta). What’s a bicycle cooperative? According to the Bicycle Collective Network Web site, bicycle cooperatives, also known as community bike shops or bike collectives, come in a number of different flavors. They can be:

Non-profit bicycle organizations

Bike shops that are accessible to people without money

Shops that have an educational focus, teaching others how to fix bikes

Shops that are volunteer run

Organizations that ship bikes to communities suffering from first world colonialism and its effects

Shops that provide free or low-cost services to the community

Organizations that recycle bicycles and parts

The Savannah Bike Co-Op is holding weekly meetings at the Sentient Bean on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. and on Saturdays at 2 p.m. at the future site of the co-op, a former garage on the southwest corner of 39th and East Broad streets.

A poster produced by the group trumpets a worthy sustainability goal: “Help get everyone on a bike!” Bicycle cooperatives are also sustainable in that they recycle bicycles and bicycle parts that would normally end up in the trash. For more information on the group, e-mail savannahbikecoop [at] gmail.com or visit the group’s Web site.

Posted in Advocacy, Recycling, Transportation