Foundation Grants

REI Grant Programs

REI and Bikes Belong have partnered since 2008 to provide grants to communities working to improve their bicycle programs, outreach, and infrastructure. In 2011 Bikes Belong was pleased to offer REI Bicycling Design Best Practices Grants. These grants provided funding to cities whose leaders have participated in the Bicycling Design Best Practices Program (now called Green Lane Project), and specifically support improvements to the bicycling environment based on experiences from the study tours and workshops. The Best Practices Grants aim to jumpstart a participating city's ability to put proven and effective bicycling elements in place, measure the return in increased ridership and safety, and make the case for additional improvements while having a positive effect on bicycling in the short term.

REI Best Practices grant applications are not currently being accepted. Bikes Belong will notify eligible applicants when funding becomes available.

December 2011 REI Best Practices Grant Awards

Bicycle Repair Station Business Improvement Program - Los Angeles, CA
The City of Los Angeles hopes to build on its successful bicycle corral program and provide additional amenities to cyclists through this public/private partnership with local businesses. Bikes Belong’s grant of $17,000 will help fund bicycle repair stations and permanent air pumps in public rights of way in 7 locations, and adjacent businesses will provide ongoing maintenance. REI members will provide recommendations on business locations.

Intersection Bicycle Guide Markings - San Francisco, CA
This $25,000 grant will fund green pavement treatments on sections of The Wiggle, a critical bicycle route that connects downtown San Francisco with neighborhoods to the west. These on-street markings will visually identify the network, brand the street as a unique and important bicycle route, and improve safety and accessibility for cyclists. The design is based on recommendations that came out of a recent ThinkBike Workshop hosted by the Dutch Embassy and inspired by a Bikes Belong-led study tour in the Netherlands.

Liberty Avenue Green Bike Lanes - Pittsburgh, PA
The City of Pittsburgh will increase the safety and visibility of bike riders as they pass through a high-conflict intersection by installing the city's first green bicycle lanes on the approach and continuing bike markings through the intersection itself. Bikes Belong’s grant of $23,000 for this pilot project will aid Pittsburgh in its efforts to make green lanes the standard for bike lane design throughout the city.

Salt Lake city's First Protected Bikeway - Salt Lake City, UT
In this pilot project, the city will construct low-cost protected cycle tracks and collaborate with a graduate student at the University of Utah to assess their safety and modify the design as needed. Bikes Belong’s $25,000 award will fund construction of this bikeway, and Salt Lake City hopes to replicate the final approved design in multiple locations.

The REI Bicycle Friendly Communities Grant Program concluded in 2010. If you require information about this program or previous grant recipients, please contact Zoe Kircos, Grants Manager, at zoe@bikesbelong.org.