Bikes Belong awards $40k in grants

Bikes Belong will award $40,000 in grants this month to five great bicycling projects. The funding support for these paths, trails, and programs is intended to enhance communities across the country, effectively putting more people on bicycles more often. The following programs recieving grants are:

The B & O Trail Association will receive $10,000 to help purchase a 13-acre stretch of abandoned rail corridor in Hendricks County, Indiana. This path will be the first bike/ped connection between downtown Indianapolis and three nearby state parks, providing a recreation and transportation route for active Hoosiers.

Venice Area Beautification, Inc. will receive $5,000 to help build the final segment of the Venetian Waterway Park, a multi-use path on the west coast of Florida.

The Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association will receive $5,000 to help construct the first singletrack in the Hayward Cluster. The new 8-mile trail—the first of three planned singletrack trails in the cluster—will provide exciting routes for mountain bikers and help boost bicycle tourism.

The Adventure Cycling Association $10,000 to help establish the corridor plan for a U.S. National Bicycle Route Network. This system of bike routes, modeled after successful networks in Europe and Canada, will make bicycling a more visible and viable means of transportation and recreation on U.S. roads.

Columbia, Missouri's PedNet will receive $10,000 to launch the pilot of their bicycle safety and education program, "From Proficiency to Practice." This three-stage program will begin this fall by teaching bicycling basics to 600 fourth graders, training children in safe bike handling through an after-school program, and establishing a Bike Train for kids who want to ride to school.