MEMPHIS, Tenn. — One Memphis artist is finding a way to turn around the issue of illegally-dumped tires in the city while creating jobs.
Tad Pierson is teaming up with the Binghampton Development Corporation (BDC) to repurpose these tires into bike lane barriers. A 1.2 mile, 420 barrier installation is being installed along a stretch of currently unprotected bike lanes in Binghampton. The barriers will be in place for a 1-year trial period which if successful, will then be approved by the City of Memphis for use on additional bike lane projects. Work crews are now installing these barriers on Broad Avenue.
The barriers are being manufactured and installed by trainees in the newly launched warehouse job training program called the BDC BusinessHub.
The BDC's job training program works with people who have criminal records or are in recovery from alcohol or drug use. All involved hope to replicate this idea in other cities.
At approximately 350 tires per mile, BDC said the potential for diverting significant quantities of tires from landfills is significant.
The project is being supported by grant funding from the Tennessee Department of Environmental Conservation, the City of Memphis, People for Bikes and the Cummins foundation.
In addition to marketing the scrap tire bike lane barriers to other projects in Memphis, the BDC plans to offer this product for sale regionally. As the production of the barriers will take place as a part of the BDC Business Hub in Memphis, all of the tires sold as barriers will come from Memphis.