I co-founded the Willimantic-based Bikes for Windham bike recycling program in 2023. The program started small by collecting, checking, and distributing bikes to low-income adults and youth through the basic needs nonprofit WAIM.

I was excited to be awarded a CT Department of Transportation (CT DOT) Active Transportation microgrant in 2024. With the $ 5,000 grant, we could distribute locks and helmets and purchase a set of repair tools that we’d been borrowing from volunteers. This felt like a win after news that several bikes had been stolen. These bikes are a form of transportation for many people, especially those unhoused or marginally housed, even in the dead of winter. The recycling program’s impact was visible in the increased bikes around Willimantic.

Like many small New England cities and towns with pre-car footprints, Willimantic has a dense, walkable core. I live in the Victorian Hill Section, which is rated “Very Walkable.” Willimantic is the most walkable part of Windham County. While the Willimantic Hill Section is “Very Walkable”, it’s rated as “Somewhat Bikeable.”

There are no protected bike lanes and no lights on the Airline rail trail, which runs through the center of Willimantic and connects two public housing developments to downtown. Even without infrastructure, biking requires resources like maintenance. Willimantic’s only bike shop, Pedal Power, closed in 2024. Biking requires physical ability, preference, and tolerance to winter ice and summer heat.  Biking without bike lanes, lights, or other support isn’t for most people. And many opportunities exist outside of a reasonable bike commuting distance.  Willimantic is dominated by cars and their associated infrastructure, ranging from parking lots to garages.

Public resources allocated to car investment far exceed those allocated to alternative transit programs, such as the CT DOT microgrants. While there are no protected bike lanes in Willimantic, a parking garage opened in 2022 with 290 parking spots at a reported cost of $12.5 million, with $6 million reimbursed from the state. The garage has eight free electric vehicle (EV) chargers, which disproportionately support wealthier residents.  

A 2024 Gallup poll found that households with incomes over $100,000 are three times more likely to own an EV than households with incomes between $40,000 and $99,000 and seven times more likely than households with incomes under $40,000. These public subsidies are not equitable. As a community college professor with an EV, my parking and charging can be free, while people bike without lanes, and people stand waiting for buses without benches or shelters. This is a regressive pro-car system.

Beyond EVs, wealthier people are more likely to own cars in the U.S., except for public transit-dense cities like New York City and Boston. Public investment in cars, parking, and road subsidies is regressive, benefiting wealthier individuals.

Due to the lack of other affordable and accessible alternatives, cars are highly desirable for lower-income people. People with cars are more likely to find and keep a job, and are also more likely to have access to food and healthcare. However, cars can be traps for low-income people. The total cost of owning a car can exceed $ 1,000 per month, which includes the costs of the vehicle, insurance, taxes, gas or electricity, maintenance, and repairs. According to a 2025 Bankrate report, the majority of Americans struggle to pay $1,000 in unexpected expenses, such as a car repair, and can be destabilized or take on debt.