The Center for Appropriate Transport (CAT) is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

community center Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

dedicated to

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...

s and alternative transport located in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

, United States. CAT holds publicly funded educational workshops for teaching youth from ages 12 to 21. Within the facility there is a public bicycle repair workspace and a bike machine-shop for the design and manufacture of special-purpose bikes, particularly cargo bikes and

recumbents A recumbent bicycle is a bicycle that places the rider in a laid-back reclining position. Most recumbent riders choose this type of design for ergonomic reasons: the rider's weight is distributed comfortably over a larger area, supported by ba ...

. There is also a bike museum on site, a bike rack-building workshop, and a sewing facility. CAT formerly held the offices of ''Oregon Cycling'' magazine, which ceased publishing in 2009. CAT is also home to Pedaler's Express, a pioneering workbike-based delivery service. In 2021, the facility and programs were bought by the non-profit Better Eugene-Springfield Transportation (BEST).

History

CAT was founded in 1992. To create the center, Jan VanderTuin gathered the founding core group, which included bicycle retailer and activist Kurt Jensen, writer and racer Jason Moore, environmental activist Tom Bowerman, and Rain Magazine editors Greg Bryant and Danielle Janes. Bryant was instrumental in bringing ''Oregon Cycling'' into CAT, and obtaining non-profit status. CAT opened on November 20, 1992. Within a few years CAT and ''Rain Magazine'' were no longer partners, and by 1995 the emphasis turned to youth education when CAT began contracting with local school districts to work with youth in need of a hands-on education. CAT is an

alternative education Alternative education encompasses many pedagogical approaches differing from mainstream pedagogy. Such alternative learning environments may be found within state, charter, and independent schools as well as home-based learning environments. ...

program registered with the

Oregon Department of Education The Department of Education of the U.S. state of Oregon is responsible for implementing the state's public education policies, including academic standards and testing, credentials, and other matters not reserved to the local districts and boar ...

and as such is one of the few publicly funded bicycle schools in the United States.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Center For Appropriate Transport 1992 establishments in Oregon Alternative education Community-building organizations Cycling in Oregon Cycling organizations in the United States Human-powered vehicles Non-profit organizations based in Oregon Organizations based in Eugene, Oregon Transportation in Lane County, Oregon Transportation in Eugene, Oregon

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links