In Concord, the names Abbot and Downing bring to mind a bygone era of tranportation. But you can now associate those two names with an emerging travel trend that will be visible on city streets.
Concord Public Library staff introduced two new e-bikes – yes, named Abbot and Downing – to the community this month.
“We wanted to come up with a name that has historic context to Concord and we thought it might be a catchy name and make identifying them easier,” said assistant library director Mat Bose about the nod to the iconic coach and carriage builder. “We wanted to give them fun nicknames so people can associate them.”
The bikes are not available for public use and will only be used by trained staff members to tow bookmobiles to community events and outdoor locations throughout Concord. The bookmobiles carry library cards, books, educational materials, resources and craft kits.
“We are now able to reach those hard-to-reach places in the community that we were unable to reach before,” said library director Todd Fabian. “We can go across the city and spread out and spend more time in areas like Penacook, out in the east and all areas of the Heights.”
So far, the bookmobiles have held readings and educational events in Keach, Rollins, White, Rolfe and Merrill parks. In the future, Fabian and Bose hope to bring the bikes to public pools, trailheads and festivals around the city.
“People have been really excited when they see us. They want to know what the bikes are and what we are doing and they’re curious about the bikes themselves,” Bose said. “They’re enthusiastic about the library being in different places they don’t usually see us.”
Though the e-bikes provide an electric boost, they are still pedal-driven and assisted by a small motor to help bicyclists travel longer distances at a quicker pace.
The bikes were purchased for $18,000 through ARPA federal funding and have cost nothing for city taxpayers, Fabian said. With some of the funding, the library purchased a small collection of books they are giving away.
“We’re just in a trial phase here and when the weather hits, we’ll have time in the winter to plan what to do in the spring,” Fabian said. “We hope to have a robust variety of items and locations as we move along.”