Alliance High School students gathered with members of Activate Alliance on Friday morning at the City Park to showcase one of four new bike racks they developed for the Alliance Bike Share Program.
Brent Thomas, who teaches agriculture at Alliance High School, explained that his students have worked on this project since Activate Alliance Member Larry Bolinger contacted him about the opportunity.
“I split the students into teams on the bike racks and we did what I called Alliance’s Next Top Welder Competition,” said Thomas. “They went through the design process, figured out their dimensions and ordered their own steel. Then they split into their teams and saw who had the best one.”
Thomas said the competition was originally set to last one month, but with Christmas break and sporting activities, the competition was extended.
“The kids were awesome,” Thomas said. “I was really proud to see them try something new. This was a new endeavor for them to attempt. I definitely think that we were honing in the process towards the end.”
Bolinger explained said Activate Alliance has been working to distribute bike racks throughout the city to be used as part of the bike share program. The students developed racks to be placed at City Park, Laing Lake, Bower Park and Carter’s.
“We wanted to make sure that if we were going to build them, we’d build them in Alliance,” said Bolinger. “This is a great project for the kids. We tried to put them in different parts of town so they could place the bikes there. It seems like this last summer, a lot more people were out walking and biking than I’ve seen before.”
Bolinger noted there are currently about 40 bikes available for use through the program, with more being prepared for circulation. Bolinger said the program has been successful thus far, providing needed transportation and the opportunity for community members to be more active. Activate Alliance Member Earl Jones said that he’s heard examples of people using the bikes to ride to work.
“Obviously, there’s a real need there if they’re using them to ride to work,” said Jones. “We picked spots for bike racks where we noticed bikes being left. We would encourage people, when you ride a bike, return it to the bike rack so people know it’s available.”
Bolinger said another goal for the program is to have bike repair stations available at some of the racks, including a bike pump and some basic tools. He noted the plans are still in the works.