The Fairbanks Bike Shop opened about nine years ago as a joint project between the Drew Lewis Foundation and Springfield Brewing Company Athletics with the mission of encouraging neighborhood residents to ride their bicycles safely and often.
The shop is run entirely by volunteers and provides bicycle repairs, biking safety lessons and free bikes for children. The shop also accepts donations in the form of used bikes and bike parts.
“So, we want to make sure that kids are getting free bikes. We do have some kids who use them to get to school in this neighborhood," said Dr. Amy Blansett, CEO of the Drew Lewis Foundation. "There isn’t, you know, a bus that’s picking kids up, and so we make sure that they have locks as well. That way they can get to school quickly and be able to safely then store their bikes at the school as well.”
The Drew Lewis Foundation is also opening a storefront for the Fairbanks Community Bike Shop on the west end of Commercial Street, between Big Momma’s Coffee and Espresso Bar and White River Brewing Company. The money made from the storefront, which will sell bikes closer to retail prices, will help fund the original bike shop’s activities and keep the prices of their used bikes low.
The new storefront has faced delays but is expected to open sometime in June this year.