December 11, 2014

 

City News Service 

 

 

The Los Angeles County Met­ropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) recently announced it is seeking additional public suggestions on new potential bike share areas throughout Los Angeles County.  Metro is the lead agency for developing a countywide implementation plan for bike sharing, which enables users to rent a bicycle to make short-distance trips.  When complemented with transit, these bike sharing platforms help reduce travel times, improve access and spur the growth of bicycling as an increasingly viable transportation mode.

 

Metro has developed an interactive Google map consisting of strategically placed bikeshare stations as part of its bikesharing program pilot project in Downtown Los Angeles, Pasadena, Long Beach and Santa Monica. Earlier public input within these pilot cities was substantial, with more than 5,000 “likes” and 400 suggested bikeshare locations.

 

Now, the agency is expanding efforts to identify other areas of the county as it develops a longer-term, regionwide bikesharing program. 

 

Metro’s bikeshare Map, available online at: http://www.metro. net/interactives/html/bikeshare/, enables users to submit a comment on a community they think bikeshare will be successful. Users can submit one comment per community at a time.  Those selecting multiple areas should submit multiple comments. All suggestions will be accepted through Monday, Decem­ber 22.

 

Metro has also identified communities that are “bikeshare ready” which are indicated in orange on the map.  Bikeshare readiness is determined by a number of variables, including population and employment density, job and trip attractors, topography, bicycle infrastructure, community support and funding availability.  Bikeshare ready communities identified by Metro include North Hollywood, the Hollywood area, Westlake, Marina Del Rey, Pico Union and East Los Angeles, among others. 

 

Final bikeshare station locations will be determined by Metro, city staff and future bikeshare operator. Locations will be determined by availability of space, right-of-way, ADA access and various other factors.

 

Metro staff will report to the Board on the Bikeshare Imple­mentation plan for consideration in January 2015.  The plan will include business models that identify how user and advertising fees, corporate sponsorships, and/or grant funding can support bike share operations.  Metro will then move to contract and administer the bikeshare program. First-phase implementation for an initial pilot is currently planned for 2016.

 

Bike share programs throughout the United States have proven successful in providing people with first and last-mile short trip transportation options that help reduce local vehicle trips.

 

For additional information about bike sharing or Metro’s Bike Program, visit metro.net/bikes.

Category: News