The City of Grand Junction is offering a new Ebike to Work Ownership Program funded by a grant through the Colorado Energy Office “Community Access to Electric Bicycles” in the amount of $134,000. This grant-funded program provides ebikes to 40 community members who live and/or work in the Horizon Drive Business Improvement District (Horizon BID) or the Downtown Development Authority Boundary (DDA Boundary). Those selected to receive an ebike through the program must live or work in one of the two business districts, and earn at or below 80 percent area median income (AMI). Eighty percent AMI in Mesa County is $46,050 for an individual.
Applications are now open online in English and Spanish and paper copies are available at City Hall 250 N. 5th St. in Community Development, Visit Grand Junction at 740 Horizon Dr., the Horizon Drive Business Improvement District (BID) office at 2764 Compass Dr. (Compass Park Building), the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) office at 101 S. 3rd St. Ste. 100, and the Western Slope Foodbank of the Rockies at 698 Long Acre Dr. (23 and G Road). Once applicants are determined to have met qualifications, ebikes will be presented on a first come, first served basis until all 40 have been distributed.
Qualifying applicants will be required to submit address and income verification with their application. Housing Resources of Western Colorado is donating their time to assist in reviewing applications for income verification of potential ebike owners. The program will run for one year after the program launch date, and will feature participant surveys at two, four, and six month intervals.
The $134,000 Colorado Energy Office grant will fund the purchase of 40 bikes, provide pertinent safety and security equipment, offer coordination with a local bicycle retailer, and includes the assistance of a team from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The bike retailer will be selected through a request for proposal (RFP) process and the city will pay that vendor to supply ebikes, safety and security equipment, rider education and safety trainings, and basic bike maintenance over the course of the program.