Bicycle riders in the downtown Waukegan area who need to tighten a bolt on their bike or fix a gear now have a place where they can address their concerns at no cost.
Just outside the north end of the Waukegan Public Library is a newly installed bicycle repair station with an assortment of tools attached to cables which can be pulled from the fixture to make needed repairs. An air pump is coming soon.
Jose Rosa, a library service assistant and a member of its Off the Grid Green Committee, said the station also has bars on which a bicycle can be laced so repairs can be made at eye level. People need not twist to get in position.
“They don’t have to keep it on the kickstand, or kneel over a wheel,” Rosa said. “There’s room for two people to work at once. It does not have to be one person at a time.”
The Deluxe Bike Repair Station became operative on Sept. 5 outside the library in downtown Waukegan, with nine bicycle-repair tools attached.
One of 12 committees consisting of library employees designed to help improve the facility and enhance its mission, Rosa said he and his colleagues on the committee were looking for ideas to reduce people’s carbon footprints.
Also a member of the city of Waukegan’s Green Team, which looks for ways to help the environment citywide, Rosa said he heard about the idea of the bike repair station at one of its meetings. The closest was in Lake Bluff. He brought the idea to the library.
Both Annalisa Teresi, a children’s librarian and a committee member, and Ruby Arreola, a children’s reference associate and also part of the committee, both embraced the idea of the station and began to do their research. They also raised the funds to buy it.
“We did food events, like walking tacos, to raise the money,” Teresi said. “We did other fundraising, too. We used social media.”
“It’s nice to have a place to bike to work and know it is secure,” Arreola added “You can also fix it if you have to.”
Library Executive Director Tiffany Verzani said things like the bicycle repair station and the air pump, which will soon be beside it, are part of the library’s mission of service to the community.
“The library has a lot of goals, including access to a healthy lifestyle and environmental awareness,” Verzani said. “There are people who bike to work downtown. Teens are able to lock their bikes here. We’re going to add a skateboard and scooter rack.”
Doing some research on how much he reduces his personal carbon footprint by using his bicycle and leaving his car at home, Rosa said his motivation to do the bicycle repair rack grew more intense.
“I see a lot of people ride their bikes to work downtown,” Rosa said. “It was a no-brainer to do this.”
Placing a bicycle on one of the standards on the repair station, there is an array of tools to use like a standard screwdriver, a Phillips screwdriver, Allen wrenches, a pedal wrench, hex wrenches and a tire grip.
“Each tool is for a different part of the bike,” he said.
