Grand Opening of Buffalo East Side Bike Club Community Workshop and E-Bike Library

Thankfully Buffalo is home to the East Side Bike Club (ESBC – affiliate of the Buffalo United Front) – a non-profit organization that promotes inclusivity, safety, and access to a broader and more cohesive bike culture in an underserved community.

One of ESBC’s newest initiatives is the opening of a Community Workshop and E-Bike Library. The purpose of the new bike-friendly hub will be to get more people riding bikes, so that they have another transportation option at their disposal. By providing a place where cyclists can have bikes repaired and serviced (through community workshops), they will have a healthy and reliable transportation option when it comes to accessing jobs and essential services. The hub will also offer a variety of bike related workshops throughout the year.

Adding to the excitement of the hub is the addition of the region’s first E-Bike Library! Community members from the neighborhood can qualify to borrow an e-bike for free, or they can access a selection of donated bikes, which have been serviced and repaired. Prior to opening the Community Workshop element in a commercial space, these types of clinic oriented services were accessed via a residential basement space, which was operational for six years.

The establishment of the East Side Bike Club Community Workshop and E-Bike Library was made possible thanks in part to funding from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Legacy Funds, administered by the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo. The E-Bike Library pilot program is supported by funding from the National Center for Mobility Management’s Community Mobility Ready-to-Launch grant program.