Bike racks provide eco-friendly options for Habitat for Humanity families
Posted on Monday, April 4th, 2022
Students Bailey Schlievert and Nick Dufresne building the bike racks.
Two new bike racks will soon accompany the latest housing development built by Habitat for Humanity Greater Ottawa. Lead by Construction Trades and Building Systems instructor Mark Bowen, learners in Algonquin College’s Welding and Fabrication Techniques program are building the steel-framed bike racks for Titus Landing, a new eight-unit townhome development at Wateridge Village. The bike racks will be installed in a communal outdoor space this spring, in advance of residents moving in late 2022.
The College welcomes opportunities for students to apply their practical learning to benefit local communities. Projects like the bike racks are a perfect assignment for students to apply their learned skills to a real-life design.
When Habitat Greater Ottawa reached out about their need to Shaun Barr, Academic Chair of Construction Trades and Building Systems, he immediately accepted.
“We haven’t done anything like this for two years due to the pandemic. Habitat [Greater Ottawa] is a great organization and the students, faculty and support staff love doing projects like this,” said Barr.
Habitat Greater Ottawa builds affordable, energy efficient homes for local families with the support of donors, community partners and volunteers. Approximately 37of the households they partner with come from , freeing up space on the 12,000-person housing waitlist in Ottawa. Families who partner with them commit volunteer hours to the organization, purchase their home at fair market value with no down payment and pay an affordable mortgage.
The bike racks will be a welcome addition to the households of Titus Landing, enriching the community by providing an element of safety and fun.
“Having sustainable transportation goes along with the need for housing,” said Lyndsay Mohns, Construction Project Manager at Habitat Greater Ottawa. “These bike racks fill a need in the project for the children, and adults, who will be living there.”
Shawna Blanchard, Director of Development at Habitat Greater Ottawa, says homeownership gives families the stability to thrive in their communities with a long-term investment.
“As we build higher density in different designs, the outdoor spaces like bike racks all become essential parts of the build. There isn’t a typical backyard where bikes can be stored; these are things the children and parents really need,” said Blanchard. “We commend Algonquin College for working with us on this and really hope to do more partnerships in the future.”
Click here to learn more about Habitat for Humanity Greater Ottawa.
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