For the Climate Justice Neighbourhood Mapping project.

We interviewed Ed from Gateway Bikehub, a community project in Thorncliffe Park. Gateway Bikehub started as a solid waste diversion program, but evolved into a social hub where residents can learn how to fix, ride, and maintain bikes. This helps them get around the area in a climate-friendly way.

Despite the successes Ed could share with us, he mentioned several obstacles the community faces surrounding the project. The biggest of them is the lack of bike infrastructure: “There are kilometres of bike lanes within each community, but they all end. There are none on the arteries. So people can get on their bikes and ride in their neighbourhood, but they can’t leave.”

We asked Ed about the best way to support his work. “I think the best thing to do is to make people aware […] that there is a group like us that can find a home for their old bike, and I think a lot of people appreciate that.”