There has been a lot of resident led energy at New Columbia since the Housing Authority opened this new development in 2005. In 2009 the Community Cycling Center received funding to begin to better understand the barriers to bicycling in low income communities of color in Portland Oregon. With the help of HAP Community Builder Leslie Esinga, and the Village Gardens Program, we were able to develop some really strong relationships with some of the resident leaders at New Columbia.
With the Community Cycling Center's Communities In Motion project, we were able to start facilitating a New Columbia Bicycle Committee, which meets monthly to help direct bicycle related programming and infrastructure in their neighborhood. The residents meet with staff from various agencies, including PBOT, Sunday Parkways and HAP, to give input on bicycle projects, and also plan upcoming bicycling events at New Columbia.
Past projects at New Columbia include:
- Bikes For Kids
- Bikes For All
- Create a Commuter
- Bike Club
- Sunday Parkways Ride
- Fix it day
Now in February of 2011 we are getting ready for our third monthly Bicycle Committee Meeting, with lots of visions and ideas for the spring bicycling events at New Columbia. The committee is working on putting together a bicycle bucket carrier building workshop during the Village Market Grand Opening, a bicycle ride during the Sunday Parkways event, and a Bike Mobile Fix It day in the spring.
To learn more about the community of New Columbia, check out their website here:
http://www.newcolumbia.org/
