BETHLEHEM, Pa. — After 32 years of advocating for sustainable transportation and pedestrian safety in the Lehigh Valley, it could be said that it's like riding a bike for the Coalition for Appropriate Transportation (CAT).
The Bethlehem-based nonprofit and its 391 members are known locally to offer bicycle maintenance programming, group rides and advocation for all who walk, bike or take the bus in Lehigh and Northampton counties.
“From helping families learn what it means to have a safe, working bicycle for their children, to training adults to be awesome bike mechanics so they in turn can help others, to helping individuals obtain and maintain bicycles for essential transportation, CAT is working every day to enhance mobility and community,” the nonprofit’s most recent annual report highlighting 2024 reads.
The report shows CAT had a busy year:
- 3,640 board volunteer hours by 14 board members; 3,428 volunteer hours by 56 CAT Bicycle Cooperative volunteers; 2,080 paid staff hours and 780 volunteer staff hours
- 2,457 visits served, bringing life back to 339 total bikes, awarding 150 youth bikes through the CAT Holiday Bikes program and refurbishing 78 adult bikes by/for low-income residents, and more
- More than 70 students across an assortment of classes, including wheel building and basic bike maintenance
- 60 group bike rides with 495 total participants, including CAT Weekly Women’s Ride, Lehigh Valley Bike to Work Week Rides with Mayors in Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton, among others
- 1,663 youth participants across 42 bike education events — 347 bicycle helmets fitted for youth, offered 10 sessions of CAT Bike Club at William Penn and Thomas Jefferson elementary schools, held first Bike Day at Marvine Elementary School
- Board member vocal at recent meeting related to local bus route changes
- The group is pushing for larger sidewalks and crosswalk improvements as part of the Hill-to-Hill Bridge revamp, supports safety improvements along the Broad Street corridor and wants drivers to “Slow Down and Look Around” as part of a roadway banner campaign.
Annual meeting
More than 60 CAT faithful showed up for the group’s annual meeting on March 6 at Bethlehem Public Library.
They voted in the newest edition of the board of directors: Anne Felker, Bill Meiklejohn, David Gottlieb, Emily Roland, Jennifer Cunningham, Jennifer Swann and Kyle Lebouitz.
Some of the evening’s award winners included:
- Honoring the Bike Club at William Penn Elementary School with the Youth Bike Education Award
- Action Wheels Bike Shop’s signature Tuesday-night rides won it the Group Ride Award
- Recently retired Darlene Heller, who served Bethlehem for more than two decades as planning and zoning director, received the Lifetime Community Planning Award
- Predo Nisic and Sissy Kennedy, with the CAT Volunteer Award
A new home
Coalition for Appropriate Transportation now operates at 1935 Broad St., about two miles from what’s to be its future home at the new Walnut Street Garage under construction downtown.
The group plans to essentially double its current workspace with a street-facing, 2,000-square-foot bicycle cooperative at the Center City site.
"Everybody drives a car everywhere. I think that this will encourage people to take every opportunity to ride their bike."McCarthy's Red Stag and Whiskey Bar owner Neville Gardner, on the Coalition for Appropriate Transportation moving in nearby
McCarthy’s Red Stag and Whiskey Bar, CAT’s neighbor-to-be to the west of the garage, recently held a fundraiser event alongside the group, offering up $1,000 for the nonprofit’s new space.
“It invites a culture shift away from cars to support an enjoyable pedestrian experience and public transit with an array of LANTA bus routes that converge in the one-block radius of our new facility,” Slingerland said.
Red Stag owner Neville Gardner said, “I love to walk, so anything that encourages that, I think is a great thing. Everybody drives a car everywhere.
“I think that this will encourage people to take every opportunity to ride their bike.”
