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(07.20.01)

Bikes Belong Coalition Grant to Adirondack North Country Association:
The Saranac Lake to Lake Placid Bikepath will create the only bicycle path within 50 miles

Richard Olken, Executive Director of Bikes Belong Coalition, announced that Bikes Belong Coalition awarded a grant of $10,000 to Adirondack North Country Association to implement the Saranac Lake to Lake Placid Bkepath. The Bikes Belong funding will lead to a rails-with-trials project and initiate the development of a ten-mile bicycle path linking the upstate New York communities of Lake Placid and Saranac Lake.

The Saranac Lake to Lake Placid Bikepath addresses a critical need in the community. Michael Moore, owner of Barkeater Bicycles in Saranac Lake, notes, “A family oriented bicycle path is sorely needed in our area connecting the All America city of Saranac Lake to the Olympic Village of Lake Placid.” Currently, many people travel to areas outside Lake Placid to ride bicycle paths. When completed, the Saranac Lack to Lake Placid Bikepath will be the only bikeway within 50 miles, and will provide a safe, family oriented alternative to one of the busiest highways in the region.

The Bikes Belong grant seeks to leverage over $600,000 in TEA-21 funding. Bikes Belong’s Olken said, “The Saranac Lake to Lake Placid Bikepath is a win-win situation. It will generate economic growth and tourism, put more people on bicycles, and bridge the gap between two communities.”

The Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA), is a not-for-profit organization headquartered in Saranac Lake, N.Y., dedicated to improving the quality of life. ANCA has been involved in bicycle projects since 1991. In addition to providing a safe alternative for bicycling, the Saranac Lake to Lake Placid Bikepath will provide residents and visitors an outstanding opportunity to visit wildlife areas previously inaccessible.

“ANCA’s work to establish Adirondack North Country as a premier bicycling destination takes on new meaning as we begin to work with our local communities to develop the infrastructure and pathway that will be a vital recreational, social, and economic connection,” said Terry deFranco Martino, ANCA’s Executive Director. “We welcome the opportunity and thank Bikes Belong.”

Bikes Belong Coalition is sponsored by the American bicycle industry, with the goal of putting more people on bikes more often.

Bikes Belong Coalition assists local organizations, agencies, and communities in developing bicycle facilities projects that will be funded by TEA-21, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century. Bikes Belong Coalition will accept applications for grants of up to $10,000 each.

For more information about the Bikes Belong grants program, call 619.734.2111 or email tim@bikesbelong.org, or visit www.bikesbelong.org.

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