In November 2025, Bloomington’s Transportation Commission awarded grants to five community organizations as part of the Local-Motion Grant Program. The program is one way the city is working to make streets safer for bikers and pedestrians.
The grant was awarded this year to the Bloomington Bike Project, the Monroe County YMCA, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Bloomington, the downtown branch of the Monroe County Public Library and the Summit Hill Community Development Corporation. The goal is to have the projects completed by Dec. 1, 2026.
The grant is intended to fund local projects that will continue after the grant ends, with the goal of contributing to Bloomington’s “walking and biking culture.” Applicants had to be part of a local nonprofit, local business or neighborhood association to be considered.
Hank Duncan, Bloomington’s Safe Streets program manager, said the annual grant program is a part of the city’s Safe Streets For All efforts that began in 2023.
“We are talking small, small, small scale projects that will make small changes in the short term, but in the long term, if you keep piling them on, if you keep doing them, it grows momentum,” Duncan said.
The Planning and Transportation Department initially set aside $2,400 for a single grant, however that was revised to $8,000 to be split between multiple grants due to the “quality and quantity” of applications for the 2025 cycle, Duncan said.
One grantee, the Bloomington Community Bike Project, is an entirely volunteer run non-profit organization under the Center for Sustainable Living that has applied for the grant in past years.
“What we're using the funding for this time around is to do some maintenance on some of the heavier equipment that we have in the bike shop,” volunteer Greg Janowiak said. “In particular, our work stands for bicycles are pretty old.”
The Summit Hill Community Development Corporation will also use the grant to install a bike repair station at the Crestmont affordable housing complex.
The Bike Project repairs and sells used bikes and parts at a low price, and volunteers assist people in repairing their bikes. Janowiak, an IU alumnus, got involved in the Bike Project after moving back to Bloomington over a year ago.
“I rode in Little Five, continued to ride after school, and love to learn more about bikes,” he said. “And I also just think it's important for folks to be able to cheaply and efficiently maintain their bicycle as a way to get around town, especially in Bloomington, which is so bikeable.”
From 2019-2024, there were six fatalities in pedestrian and bicycle involved crashes in Bloomington. Duncan said the grant program is part of the city’s larger goal within the Safe Streets Action Plan to eliminate all fatal and serious injury crashes on Bloomington roads by 2039.
“We're talking about an overall change in culture of how we as a community look at safe streets,” Duncan said. “And to do that, it needs to be a collaborative effort between the city and its partners.”
Other grantee projects include the expansion of Club Riders, a Boys and Girls Clubs of Bloomington program that provides children with snacks, transportation and the opportunity to learn about bike and pedestrian safety.
Before he worked for the city, Duncan was the Little 500 race director for the IU Student Foundation. During his time there, he worked with a number of students who were involved in the Club Riders program.
“I heard more about their experience of being a staff member and how there were years when they, when the Boys and Girls Club, could not afford staff members for this program because they didn't have the funds for it,” Duncan said.
The Boys and Girls Club has received the grant in previous years, and according to its 2025 application, has expanded its services so 20 additional children will be able to participate in Club Riders this spring.
“Now, because of this grant program, they're able to not just maintain what they have, but improve it,” Duncan said. “They've grown their bike fleet, they've improved the components on their bikes so more people can ride.”
The Monroe County YMCA will use the grant funds to provide attendees of its Healthy Kids Day 2026 event with helmets, light checks and additional bike safety checks. The event is April 18.
The Monroe County Public Library plans to purchase mobility aids known as “rollators,” a continuation of the mobility aid lending the library has done since 2022. Rollators are rolling walkers that have wheels, hand breaks and a seat. They are one of four mobility aids available at the library, and unlike other items, mobility aids have no due date.
“Once you have power in numbers of people biking and walking and taking transit to your destination or around the city or just for fun, then more people want to join in,” Duncan said.
