Our History:
The Pocatello Free Bikes project got started back in April 2003, when a handful of friends started seeking out neglected bikes and collecting them in their backyard. Founders of PFB would ride around town looking for houses that had beaten up bicycles laying in their yards, then ask the owners if they were willing to donate them. Nobody predicted at that point that the project would eventually evolve into what it is now, a space where people come to build bikes free of charge and be part of a growing community. Shortly after the bikes started piling up, the Orange Bike program was established. We built and painted several bikes for the purpose of being lent out to people who frequented the ISU campus. For a time, people could go into the offices of the ISU Outdoor Department and sign out a bike for free, then (hopefully) return the bike when they were done using it. Maintaining and keeping track of the Orange Bikes that were lent out became a hassle, and the project started to move in a different direction.
PFB approached the Portneuf Greenway Foundation about the possibility of using a garage space that they owned, located in an old powerhouse/substation on Wyeth Street in old town. The Greenway agreed to allow PFB to operate a bicycle shop at the location, free of rent or other charges, on the condition that they clean out the mountain of garbage which the space contained. This marked the beginning of PFB’s ability to operate regular hours in which people could come in and get or fix a bike, and was a landmark event in the growth of the project.
In November of 2007, PFB applied to the city of Pocatello to receive a conditional use permit (which would allow us to begin installing luxuries such as electricity, heating, and plumbing). We showed up to the city council meeting, at which the decision was to be made, with signed petitions from over 280 people from the area, supporting PFB and the Powerhouse. Over two thirds of the people in attendance were there in support of the bike shop. The city council agreed to award us the permit with a list of conditions. Receiving the conditional use permit has allowed us to begin the renovation process on the building, and we hope to have much of the work done by early fall 2008. Our list of renovation projects for the summer of 2008 includes: installing electricity, plumbing, a working furnace, replacing many broken windows, rebuilding 2 staircases up to code, repairing damaged walls, installing a new roof, and much more. Even after all these things are done there is more work to be done on the building.
We hope that after these things are done we can begin to make creative use of the space and establish more projects like the free bike shop, including a free library & media center, educational space for workshops & classes, space for small performance pieces such as plays and music, dinner parties, dance parties, and other creative & awesome ideas. As of spring 2008, about half of the yard is already taken up with a community garden.