PRESS RELEASE

Today, the City of Long Beach, in partnership with Pedal Movement, donated 62 refurbished bicycles to three local nonprofit groups, LINC Housing, Long Beach Blast and Partners of Parks. The nonprofits will further distribute the refurbished bicycles to underserved youth and families across Long Beach to encourage healthy recreation, improve mobility, and promote reuse and recycling.

“Today is the perfect day to promote partnerships like these, as November 15^th is both America Recycles Day and National Philanthropy Day,” said Mayor Robert Garcia. “Thanks to the generosity of our community members and the efforts of Public Works staff and Pedal Movement, 62 more Long Beach residents will have the opportunity to enjoy the city by bicycle.”

In May of this year, the City’s Department of Public Works hosted its second annual Recycle Your Bicycle event. Residents were asked to participate in Long Beach Bike Month by donating unwanted bicycles at any one of five drop-off locations throughout the city:  Admiral Kidd Park, Bikestation, El Dorado Park West, Houghton Park, and Whaley Park. A total of 98 bicycles were collected. Pedal Movement refurbished the salvageable bicycles for donation to selected nonprofits, and those unfit for reuse were recycled.

“We added 23.5 miles of bicycle lanes last year and intend to add even more in the coming years,” said Craig Beck, Director of Public Works. “Public Works is always looking for ways to encourage mobility in Long Beach and inspire residents to take advantage of the City’s first-class bicycle infrastructure.”

This effort promotes reuse and recycling and continues to encourage bike-friendliness in Long Beach. The public can view the Facebook Live of today’s distribution at http://bit.ly/2RQMoX2.

About the City of Long Beach

Home to approximately 470,000 people, the multiple award-winning and innovative City of Long Beach offers all the world-class amenities of a large metropolitan city while maintaining a strong sense of individual and diverse neighborhoods nestled together along the California coast. As a full-service charter city, Long Beach is home to the Queen Mary, Aquarium of the Pacific, several museums and theaters, a highly-rated school district, Long Beach Airport, the Port of Long Beach, as well as many award-winning City departments such as Health, Parks, Recreation and Marine, Development Services and more. The City also has a highly-respected university and city college, two historic ranchos, five hospitals, five golf courses, 171 parks, miles of beaches, marinas, bike paths, and a Bike Share program.

For more information about the City of Long Beach, visit http://longbeach.gov/. Follow us on social to keep up with the latest news: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

About Public Works

The Long Beach Public Works Department strives to operate, preserve, and enhance the City's physical infrastructure and transportation systems, as well as preserve the upkeep of the cityscape with a robust refuse and recycling service that serves more than 120,000 residential and commercial customers. The Department provides a variety of community services including the repair, rehabilitation and general upkeep of City streets, trees, sidewalks, and City structures. Public Works also provides emergency support services throughout the City. Visit us at http://www.longbeach.gov/pw/, "Like" us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.