Tucson’s potential bike share system is continuing to move closer to becoming reality. The city recently hired a consultant to study the feasibility of creating a bike share system in the city.
Ann Chanecka, the City of Tucson bicycle and pedestrian program manager said the consultant has a lot of experience with bike share programs and will look into how and if a bike share system will add to the city’s transit options.
“They will be looking at whether or not bike share makes sense for Tucson,” she said.
The city is also putting together an advisory committee made up of various interest groups.
Bicycle advocate Kylie Walzak was appointed by the Tucson-Pima County Bicycle Advisory Committee to represent them on the committee and said she is looking forward to the study and implementation of a bike share program in Tucson. Here’s what she wrote about here participation on the committee:
What I think is most exciting about the potential of bike share in Tucson is to increase the use of the bicycle for every day errands and transportation and to break down the categories of who sees themselves as a “bicyclist” vs. a person who bikes for transportation when it makes the most sense. As a member of this panel, I am motivated to learn about best practices that will ensure our program serves as many potential users as possible. I encourage people who would like to share their thoughts on this to contact me, kwalzak@gmail.com
Chanecka said there will be opportunities for cyclists to participate in open houses to help define what they would like to see in a bike share system.
The best opportunity according to Chanecka is an open house coming up on Monday, Oct. 6, 2014 at the Main Library in downtown Tucson. The open house will be in the basement and begin at 6 p.m.
Chanecka said she is hoping to move fast and is excited to work with a consultant that has so much experience. She said there have been places that have seen a lot of success and places that have face a lot of challenges .
What do you think? Would you like to see bike share come to Tucson.
It would be nice if this story said just what the “bike share” program is.
snegri5 Sam, I meant to include this link, which talks more about the bike share program the city is looking into: http://www.bicycletucson.com/news/tucson-bike-share-roll-end-2015/17672
MikeMcKisson snegri5 The first four graphs of the earlier story, which is supposed to make things clearer, is just bureaucratic folderol. A story of this kind needs at least
one sentence up high saying “A rideshare program is_______________.” In the
absence of such a defining sentence, the reader can only guess what that
phrase refers to. Next we start talking about stations, again with no
groundwork to understand what these stations are or why we care where they
are located. These things may be perfectly clear in your head but it is a
mistake to assume it is equally clear to the general public.
snegri5 MikeMcKisson You point is well taken, Sam. I would argue I am not writing for the general public, but rather for a group of people who are much more likely to know what a bike share system is.
But it’s clear that the assumption isn’t the case.
Anyway, bike share might work where population density is greatest and trips are short (UA, north of UA) My how the local Old Pueblo bureaucrats mindlessly, reflexively pursue the next big glamorous trending thing. And they just can’t do enough for UA.
Red Star’s suggestion is no more resume-building toys for Old Pueblo Dept of Transportation until it fixes, really fixes 3rd Street bike “boulevard.”
Oh, and part of the problem of bike share, why there is even such a concept and ridiculous implementation, is that bicycle manufacturers just don’t manufacture, and market simple steel single speed $200 bikes in USA.They don’t.But is that COT’s problem? Any city’s?
Suggest City of Tucson work on actual infrastructure (pavement, drainage, signage, ethical police dept behavior, etc., etc). The basics.
MikeMcKisson snegri5 On the internet your audience is huge. Best to assume nothing. That’s pretty basic journalistic practice.
I used the bike share in Boulder this summer and it worked out great for me. Ann might want to check it out. It was only $8/day for 30 minute segments and $3 for each time you went over the 30 minutes. Simple and easy.
@snegri3 Want your money back?