Southwest Health and Human Services/SHIP holds ribbon cutting for new e-Bike Fleet at End-O-Line
“Where’s the ribbon?” With those words from an anxious and curious Lydia Webb, a ribbon-cutting ceremony commenced at Currie’s End-O-Line Park in Currie last Thursday to introduce and celebrate four new e-bikes to the locals.
Southwest Health and Human Services’ Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP) hosted the ceremony to celebrate the launch of the new e-bike fleet, which will available for public use to explore the scenic Casey Jones State Trail. The initiative is the result of a collaborative effort between Box Car Wind, SHIP, and the Taylor Family Farms Foundation, and is geared toward sharing a vision to promote physical activity and encourage residents and visitors to enjoy pairie views along the trail.
“Today’s ribbon cutting is launching more than just an e-bike fleet, it’s launching opportunities for us to get out, be more active and enjoy our trails around here,” said Bee Chomprasob, Public Health Educator with Southwest Health and Human Services. “We’re grateful to our local leaders, volunteers and staff that through their hard work has made this all possible.”
These e-bikes, Chomprasob said, represent more than just wheels and pedals — they’re about access, mobility, health, connection and fun.
The new bikes will be stored in a garage near the park’s visitors’ center.
“E-bikes increase access to the trail and to the surrounding roads to a wider subset of the population,” said Janet Bush, public health educator with SHIP.
Bush said the batteryoperated bikes, which were purchased locally from The Bike Shop in Marshall, are designed to be used multiple times in any given day. The minimum distance they can go on one charge is 20 miles; Casey Jones is a 6-mile loop, so the bikes can be used at least a couple times every day.
“We needed to be able to accommodate everyone — this is a place that was meant for tourism, as compared to an individual,” said Bush.
Last Thursday was the culmination of a year-long project. The original plan was to use traditional bicycles, but in an effort to increase service to a wider community audience, the decision was made to upgrade to the e-bikes.
“You have to keep up with the times so they’re utilized and we’re not wasting people’s time and money,” Chomprasob said. “We don’t have any e-bikes around here for public use. We’ve helped with a lot of tradition like fleets with schools, but these are really accessible to everybody — if people want to get out, but those days are gone for them, this will help. I think this is a nice way to bridge that gap.”
Bush said even before last Thursday, calls were already coming in from people wanting to use the bikes.
