Re-cycling a great idea: City opens new Esperanza Bicycle Safety Center in NE ABQ

It’s been over a decade since the Esperanza Bicycle Safety Education Center opened in Northwest Albuquerque. A one of a kind hub, it provides bicycle education and repair services.

Since it opened its doors, there’s been a clamoring for the city to open a second location.

“People saw the benefit of Esperanza and there was understandably a lot of demand and desire to bring these benefits to more neighborhoods in our city,” saidDave Simon, the city’s director of parks and recreation.

Thus began a search for the perfect location for a second Esperanza center. In order to be considered, the new location needed to be accessible via bike paths and public transportation and be centralized in a neighborhood full of families that could take advantage of the services Esperanza offers.

After spending years looking for just the right spot, the city landed at the former headquarters of the Boys & Girls Club of Central New Mexico at 3333 Truman NE. The Boys & Girls Club, then looking to relocate, entered into an agreement with the city in 2020 to hand over control of the building.

Once in control of the roughly 13,000-square-foot building, the city set about renovating it in 2022 to fit the needs of the new bike center. Over $1.9 million in general obligation funds and state capital outlay funds contributed by former state Rep. Christine Trujillo were used to replace the roof of the building, install new bathrooms and office spaces, and retrofit the area for bike maintenance and storage of spare parts.

Fast forward two years, and the city is ready to cut the ribbon on the new Esperanza Bicycle Safety Education Center, which has been dubbed, “the McKinley Center.” The center will occupy the northern facing section. The city is leasing out the remaining two-thirds of the building for a teen center program.

At the new center, community members will be able to schedule appointments to bring their bikes in for tune ups and maintenance. Unique to Esperanza, all of the work done on bikes is done by their owner. Center employees can provide guidance when needed, but they will not touch the bikes themselves. Also, all parts are provided free. The parts are from bikes that are donated to Esperanza.

Overseeing the new McKinley Center will be D.J. Casarez, a recreation services manager with the city. Casarez will serve as the center’s manager and is excited to get to know the community members.

“Being able to show the community how to fix a flat tire or change a tube and then telling them they don’t owe us anything is exciting,” he said. “I hope we can help people take care of their bikes and show them that bikes are fun.”