Bike Newport Gets $4.95K Grant For A Bike Lane For Folk Festival

NEWPORT, RI — The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) awarded Biked Newport a grant to create a bike lane for the Newport Folk Festival and for people to use throughout the summer.

Bike Newport was one of three organizations to receive a grant from RIDOH's Healthy Eating and Active Living program in this round of funding.

"Supporting community design that encourages physical activity is one of the most effective steps that we can take to promote healthy living," Health Director Jerry Larkin said. "Through the enhancement of the built environment, we can help people use forms of active transportation, such as walking, biking, and rolling, that make it easier to incorporate physical activity into their daily lives."

The grant was for $4,950. It will create a temporary bike lane so Newport Folk Festival attendees can travel by bike to and from the festival. Bike Newport will collaborate with community agencies to encourage and increase public use of the route throughout the summer while the bike lane is in place.

The organization will also install counters to track public use of the temporary bike lane.

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