Bham FEAST grant could lead to more bike friendly city

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Anthony Bolante

Bici Bicycle Cooperative was voted winner of Bham FEAST (Funding Emerging Art with Sustainable Tactics) and awarded $5,000 toward a public initiative that involves a mobile bike and education workshop.

Bryan Davis

Reporter- Birmingham Business Journal

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Design Week Birmingham closed with a big win for cyclists in the Magic City.

Bici Bicycle Cooperative was voted winner of Bham FEAST (Funding Emerging Art with Sustainable Tactics) and awarded $5,000 toward a public initiative that involves a mobile bike and education workshop.

Bici Coop, a non-profit organization that is working to make Birmingham more bike friendly proposed a pull-behind trailer that would serve as a mobile bike shop and bike maintenance learning station.

"We were surprised and thrilled by the response to the event," said Bruce Lanier, local architect and leader of Design Week's FEAST. "I think people really identified with Bici's mission and the potential impact that the FEAST grant would make on both their organization and city youth."

The pull-behind trailer would serve as a mobile shop for bikes and would help Bici expand its community outreach and service programs.

"Birmingham has shown us that a do-it-yourself learning bike shop is a service people here want to use," said Alan Barton, president of the organization. "Funding to design and create a mobile shop would ensure that Bici is able to expand the number of people served and remain a reliable presence in the city for years to come."

Bham FEAST is a public micro-granting supper that is part of Birmingham Design Week.

Participants vote to democratically fund a project that uses design as a transformative tool to better the community.

Bici was founded in 2009 with the goal of reaching avid cyclists to those who may not know how to ride a bike but need reliable transportation.

The ultimate goal is to make Birmingham a more bike friendly city.

Bryan Davis covers real estate, retail and manufacturing for the Birmingham Business Journal. Click here to follow him on Twitter.