Founded as an offshoot of the People’s Community Union in 1998, Yellow Bike Action (YBA) is dedicated to breaking down social barriers and fighting for environmental justice [1]. This community-building project hosted Critical Masses on the last Friday of each month, the first one being at Confederation Basin on April 28th, 2000 [1]. On yellow bikes with black and red tire rims, participants in the Critical Mass rides blocked traffic and occupied public space. These direct actions challenged the lack of accessible transportation in Kingston, while calling attention to the City’s inaction on environmental protection [1]. Participants were repeatedly arrested as they took up space on major streets and asserted their right to do so when confronted by police [1]. 

YBA’s model has shifted over time, from supplying public bikes to providing community members with bikes. In 2013, YBA moved from Friendship Park to the Memorial Centre at 303 York St., because their space at Friendship Park was being torn down by the City [1]. Now as a volunteer-run, not-for-profit community bicycle repair collective, YBA enables community members to learn how to maintain and repair their own bikes by providing access to tools, parts and information [2]. YBA accepts donated bicycles from the community, refurbishes them, and offers them to the community at an affordable cost [2]. The open exchange program provides around 100 bikes for kids every year, as well as distributes lights, bells, and helmets at special events [2]. While working to mitigate financial barriers for cyclists in Kingston, YBA has saved thousands of bikes from the landfill [1]. This anti-capitalist, non-hierarchical space continues to educate the community on the topics of bicycle maintenance, safety, security, and best practices [3].

1. Archival sources provided by Matt Silburn to OPIRG Kingston . 

2. CRNC, n.d. “Yellow Bike Action”, Retrieved from https://www.crnckingston.ca/yellow-bike-action

3. Yellow Bike Action, n.d., “About Us”, Retrieved from https://yellowbikeaction.wixsite.com/home