Charlotte trying to be more bike friendly

[Bikeguy]

I have no problem with this at all.  Given that Oregon does not have a sales tax, this new law imposes a $15.00 excise tax that goes directly towards improving biking infrastructure and safety.  It does ( in the words of Earl Blumenauer ) give cyclists some skin in the game.  It is imposed on those who purchase a bike that costs over 200.00 and has a wheel diameter of 26" and greater.  Our 7.5% sales tax on a 200.00 bike already puts $15.00 into the general fund.     

 

 

[kermit]

Much to my surprise and delight the rail trail access point at Kingston appears to be 95% complete:

 

[tozmervo]

I may have missed this announcement, but there's now a bcycle at 305 Central in plaza midwood by the tracks

[kermit]

So the bike counter on Tryon near Morehead appears to be broken. I passed by twice in the past week in mid-afternoon and it read 0 bikes for the day. The 'bikes this week' (year?) number was also frozen since last week.

Seems like a broken (but lit) counter is a problem for the bike community. Who is responsible for maintaining this thing?

Edited July 28, 2017 by kermit

[kermit]

a Sunday morning wander around town reveals that churchgoers believe they have a divine right to park in bike lanes. Greater Galilee Baptist (Mint and Park) was the worst offender.

[kermit]

I am ticked that they didn't go with the same system we have elsewhere in town but its still good news:

Interesting membership model. No annual fee for up to 60 minutes of bike time per day, a credit card is still required for overage paymemts. There was a second option with a $30  annual fee which includes 2 hours per day (why would you need that much on campus?). Since its a semi-dockless system hold time is included in the time you are allowed per day.

 

It appears you can lock and 'hold' a bike anywhere, but there is a $5 fee to leave a bike outside of an official dock (in the system area which is campus). There is a $50 fee to leave a bike outside the system area.

 

Edited July 31, 2017 by kermit

[lit]

On 7/31/2017 at 2:25 PM, kermit said:

I am ticked that they didn't go with the same system we have elsewhere in town but its still good news:

Interesting membership model. No annual fee for up to 60 minutes of bike time per day, a credit card is still required for overage paymemts. There was a second option with a $30  annual fee which includes 2 hours per day (why would you need that much on campus?). Since its a semi-dockless system hold time is included in the time you are allowed per day.

 

It appears you can lock and 'hold' a bike anywhere, but there is a $5 fee to leave a bike outside of an official dock (in the system area which is campus). There is a $50 fee to leave a bike outside the system area.

 

I wonder if we'll eventually have competing systems is BCycle ever expands beyond Noda

[SgtCampsalot]

22 hours ago, lit said:

I wonder if we'll eventually have competing systems is BCycle ever expands beyond Noda

Surely it would involve an agreement between the two. Is this new one run by the school? I doubt either of them want actual competition; the school just wants control over their own. UNCC and B-Cycle would work something out.

[kermit]

1 hour ago, SgtCampsalot said:

 Is this new one run by the school?

I think kinda. It appears UNCC provides a subsidy from parking fees to the larger bike share company which does the actual operations.

Its already getting a good bit of use and rebalancing is a problem

 

[SgtCampsalot]

2 hours ago, kermit said:

I think kinda. It appears UNCC provides a subsidy from parking fees to the larger bike share company which does the actual operations.

Its already getting a good bit of use and rebalancing is a problem

 

In that case, the two companies will have to work it out when the time comes...

[kermit]

I have heard an unsubstantiated rumor that Bcycle managed to get a CMAQ grant from the NCDOT to fund a significant expansion.   However, I have not been able to find a second source or anything online to support this (I did stumble across a document showing bcycle as the 'third runnerup' on a $1.4 million proposal in the previous cycle though).

Given my single source and how frequently we hear about lots of bcycle expansions that never seem to be fully realized, I am still skeptical of the rumor. But, if true, this news would be transformatve for the system ($1 million would buy around 20 new stations I believe -- there are 23(?) stations currently).

CMAQ = Congestion mitigation and air quality

Edited August 17, 2017 by kermit

[ajfunder]

I have a very good source that says the BCycle system should double within the next year. 

[kermit]

Based on observation the UNCC bike share system is getting a huge amount of use. There is a significant re balancing problem however, it appears that most bikes gravitate down to the research campus. I have seen the company pickup redistributing a truckload of bikes once, no idea how frequently they are able to rebalance.

A couple of takeaways seem clear to me:

• Lots of bike use occurs in areas with decent bike infrastructure (including speed limited roads with traffic enforcement) and heavily rationed parking.
• The subsidy for the system from UNCC has really pulled people in -- use of the system is essentially free for registered folks.
• A few more "stations" (they are essentially just bike racks since its a dockless system) would generate a disproportionate number of new users since current dock location limits practical destinations. (leaving the bike away from a dock results in an extra charge)

[kermit]

The next OpenStreets event is October 15th and will run from LoSo (OMB) through Madison Park, Colonial Village and Myers Park 'ending' around Freedom Park.

http://openstreets704.com/route/

 

Edited September 5, 2017 by kermit

[teeg]

The latest installment in the pedestrian and cyclist "safety" campaign:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article174184941.html

Pedestrian warning citation numbers were lower this time than during previous crackdowns: 63, vs 100 (Aug 16) and 140 (Dec 16).

On the other hand, they did at least write three tickets to drivers who failed to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk.  

[Scribe]

21 hours ago, teeg said:

On the other hand, they did at least write three tickets to drivers who failed to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk.

I've actually witnessed this on Trade at College! So, it is a thing....

[KJHburg]

My brother in China sent me this sign. Chinese are serious about using bike lanes or else.  Dongguan about 40 miles from Hong Kong 

[kermit]

and when is bcycle gonna announce their expansion?

[deleted]

http://www.sustaincharlotte.org/biketoberfest

Pretty cool!

[kermit]

Lime Bike (dockless bike share) is has been in Greensboro for the past six months now and it sounds like its getting more use than expected. I wonder if dockless is heading here soon? 

(and I wonder if bcycle will get its big expansion through its quickly closing window?)

[Scribe]

We are staying for the grand opening of the Kimpton - Tryon Park in November.

Can't wait to try this place out.

One  of their perks is free bike's available on request. Check here under "Always Complimentary" https://www.kimptonhotels.com/stay/kimpton-tryon-park-hotel-charlotte-nc

On 10/18/2017 at 2:49 PM, kermit said:

I wonder if bcycle will get its big expansion through its quickly closing window?

I actually like the BCycle platform. The only problem I've run into is balancing docking stations to have availability of both bikes and slots to return.

[kermit]

It was a super nice day for Biketoberfest. Unfortunately there was not a big crowd (I suspect a lack of publicity). 

The protected lane on Mint (from Morehead to Graham) was a nice gesture but it felt kinda silly (I was the only person on it). The protected lane on 5th was pretty great and it makes it hugely easier to bike through the center of uptown. (this lane will be available all week).

I know I am preaching to the choir here but Charlotte has some remarkable bits and pieces of bike infrastructure (including rail trail, Irwin Creek, Stewart Creek and the two separate sections of LSC Gway). I do believe that adding protected connectivity to stitch these resources (and the neighborhoods) together would trigger an explosion in bike commuters. 

Edited October 22, 2017 by kermit

[pathb]

@kermit Great photos.  Enjoyed riding the PBL demonstration on 5th/6th with the family, didn't make it over to the one on Mint (though I think that's a great long-term corridor to target for building out the network in Uptown).  Sadly most of the pavement markings and art have washed away from the rain overnight and today.  

[grodney]

From Harris Teeter to Tryon today, I didn't see any bikes in the protected lane, but I did see this lady WALKING in it for several blocks.

 

 

[cltcane]

I know I'm in the minority here, but I can't wait for these temporary bike lanes to be removed, and I really hope permanent lanes are not added on 6th.  For those of us who rely on residential street parking in Fourth Ward, losing 20ish parking spots is a huge deal when there already aren't enough spaces.  Plus, I don't want to have to start dodging speeding, red light-running, non-yielding cars AND bikes while walking to and from work.