Jump to content

Charlotte Bike / Scooter Sharing


kermit

Recommended Posts


I think it might have a bigger impact in Southend and Central and Plaza than downtown. I hope we see some deployment outside 277

I heard there will be some bike share stations in South End near LYNX stations, but unfortunately, not the Plaza-Central area. Given the focus in Uptown/South End, maybe Center City Partners, which also manages Historic South End, is helping fund and/or decide the locations.

Still, I agree that the in-town neighborhoods are ripe for the service, especially since they are just a short ride from Uptown and other "first ring" neighborhoods. Below is my wishlist of locations outside of Uptown/South End:

  • 36th/Davidson
  • 27th/Davidson
  • 15th/Davidson
  • 10th/Seigle
  • 10th/Louise/Central
  • Hawthorne/Central
  • Pecan/Commonwealth
  • Thomas/Central
  • Plaza/Central
  • 7th/Pecan
  • 7th/Hawthorne
  • Travis/Elizabeth
  • Pease/Elizabeth
  • Metropolitan/Charlottetowne
  • Kings/Morehead
  • Scott/East
  • Euclid/East
  • Freedom/Morehead
  • Walnut/Litaker
  • 5th/Trade/Beatties Ford/Rozzelles Ferry

Edited by southslider
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bike sharing was very popular in DC. I lived there for two years and the racks seemed like they were always at least half empty. It wasn't rare for them to be completely empty either.

I hope the program is very popular here. Maybe it will spur more bike lanes and make greenway expansion a bigger priority.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love this idea. I used this in Montreal (and would have in Paris had our credit cards had the required pin-and-chip system).

I agree if they blanket key areas within downtown and hot activity areas within 3-4 mi radius that it could be successful. It works well for going out because you can bike to the area but then return the bike and cab home (not wanting to bike late when drunk).

I hope the city continues to be aggressive about adding bike lanes and bike safety through the central part of the city. I'd love to see streets that have the extra wide outer lane get painted with bike lanes. It is a cheap way to add the bikelane mileage, and in theory the extra wide lanes were always intended for bikes, but mega-SUV drivers think it is really for their comfort.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

The Observer article on Charlotte bikeshare: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/07/11/3376246/charlottes-first-bike-sharing.html

Sounds like the station locations are explained by the CCCP role in subsidising the service.

The comments are, as usual, priceless.

EDIT: the revised observer article does not include mention of the CCCP funding

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/07/12/3377479/freewheeling-in-the-city.html

Edited by kermit
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a fairly large group of buddies that I email with on a regular basis that sit on both sides of the political spectrum. We tend to argue on everything from light-rail to trans-saturated fats. But I can say that the bike share concept and current implementation seems to be getting a resounding "thumbs up" from all of them. I know I will use it. Especially if it expands a station into the Elizabeth area...by the Mint Museum...please....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

CCCP funding is still heavily mentioned in the current version of the article.

The 'is it profitable' talk is so silly, as it is a public service for tourists and helps support car-free trips and is obviously a sponsored endeavor rather than a city program. 200 bikes just in uptown, southend, and the hospitals is certainly a start.

I hope that once it is kickstarted that more institutional sponsors will add stations. I saw the hospitals and JCSU as sponsors, but not yet CPCC which is an obvious fit. I live in Historic 4th Ward and I suspect we won't get an initial station, but maybe Friends of Fourth Ward could sponsor a station near 4th Ward Park.

On the Bcycle app, it already shows the initial stations (7th Street Market and The Square), but I don't see yet where else they'll add stations uptown and SouthEnd. You can "Vote for Current Location" so if you go somewhere often I suspect you can use the app to vote it up.

EDIT: Now I see the map, and see that 6th and Pine got a station :thumbsup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing I just realized, the Lynx will end at Stonewall station during the convention, but there isn't a station there. Seems like a big missed opportunity as many potential customers during the convention would want to get off the light rail and grab a bike for the 6 block trip to the arena.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I rode my bike uptown last night and talked to the guys working out front of the one on Trade. They said they hope to have all 20 stations up "by the end of the summer", however ambiguous a goal that may be. I asked them if they would be rolling out all at once or in waves and he didn't know. He did say they are really pushing to have them all up and running by end of August, but couldn't give me anything definitive.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is great that they'll ramp up quickly to the 20 stations. Obviously any new stations would rely on success of the core system and then votes and feedback for new locations.

It is a little disturbing from a green point of view that they must truck the bikes around from full stations to empty ones. Hopefully the stations would balance naturally.

The article mentioned that BCBS members get discount b-cycle memberships. Anyone know how to do that?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Lots of new stations around town going up in all the locations listed on the map above. It will be no time at all before these are active.

BTW though... the station map that is posted at each bike station has an error... Point of interest 'G' and 'H' are reversed. What that means is it is telling you that the new BB&T stadium is actualy Discovery Place and the current Discovery Place is the BB&T stadium. They should have had a second/third set of eyes look at that thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Should be next week or so. I hope that people do start using it. Given the number of city tours that seem to be a draw for visitors (the horse carriages, segways, and vans) I'm hoping that visitors sign up and do this too. Of course the horses and segways bring a cool factor, bike rentals allow for independence.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just signed up for my membership.

Much to my dismay the map on the signup page: http://charlotte.bcycle.com/ does not include stations at Bland or East / West. The only stations shown outside 277 are JC Smith, Metropolitan and CMC.

Well for what its worth the East/West station is definitely there! I haven't seen bikes in it yet though, I'm sure it will be functional soon and added to the map.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just signed up for my membership.

Much to my dismay the map on the signup page: http://charlotte.bcycle.com/ does not include stations at Bland or East / West. The only stations shown outside 277 are JC Smith, Metropolitan and CMC.

Both Bland St. and East West Station already have stations there just no bikes yet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here are photographs and detailed location information for every BCycle station in town.

I am excited about this system going live even though I am not exactly sure how to best take advantage of it yet. That will change when they put in a Plaza Midwood station.

I think the concerns about helmetless / inept riders are valid, but this sytsem is a net positive in that it increases the overall % of time that people in Charlotte see bicycles out in the wild. One good way to start changing peoples' minds about the value of a bicycle friendly city is to build out the infrastructure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Started noticing bikes in racks yesterday morning. Then almost got run over yesterday afternoon on MLK St near the convention center by what appeared to be two tourists riding on the sidewalk. This morning there was an info table staffed at the rack outside the Wachovia Atrium. Cool stuff.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.