Newmarket Cycles is getting a new location to continue providing the community with bikes and cycling activities.
The community bicycle hub is moving outside the Newmarket Chamber of Commerce at 470 Davis Dr., changing from its current location on Timothy Street. The non-profit organization plans to hold a grand opening in July.
Program co-ordinator Matthew Varela said the new location stands to give them more traffic.
“It’s connected,” he said of the new location. “Way more visible and way more accessible … I just think more participation is going to enhance everything about Newmarket Cycles.”
The hub launched in Newmarket last summer, seeking to develop more cycling in the community and to have similar hubs in other GTA communities. It offers free bicycle repairs and group rides, among other programming.
Since it arrived, the hub has been running inside a shipping container. It is a “tried and true” format, Varela said, and they are using a new container at their new location.
“We’re a non-profit. We can’t afford overhead costs like rent,” he said.
Newmarket Cycles has also started a new program in partnership with York Region, called Recycle to Ride, which collects used bikes and makes simple repairs to get them back on the road for free. The organization will hold clinics this summer to teach people to repair bikes and keep what they work on at no cost.
Through the new location, Varela said he hopes to see increased participation help push forward cycling in the community. He said it is an alternative to driving that more should consider.
“You can take that really short trip way more economically and have fun and be healthier instead of just driving a car every single place, which is what most people in town do,” he said, adding that the municipality will not likely develop more biking infrastructure without higher demand. “That’s basically what our whole goal is, is to get more bikers out there so things can change for the better.”
