Charlotte Bike / Scooter Sharing

[HighRiseHillbilly]

1 minute ago, kermit said:

What other ways does an individual have to speak out against stupid, incompetent or careless drivers? How else will drivers know that blocking the crosswalk is dangerous? We all know from experience that its not going to get done through enforcement. 

I think your labeling his actions as stupid is a subjective judgement which is coming from a position of bias.

This whole conversation is subjective.

There are a myriad of options that don't include being a d---.  Most people will try to move back if you let them know in a civilized manner.

[kermit]

8 minutes ago, HighRiseHillbilly said:

This whole conversation is subjective.

There are a myriad of options that don't include being a d---.  Most people will try to move back if you let them know in a civilized manner.

He wasn't being civilized? I though he was quite polite considering that he was communicating the fact that the careless drivers were endangering his life by blocking the crosswalk.

Edited March 3, 2018 by kermit

[HighRiseHillbilly]

10 minutes ago, kermit said:

He wasn't being civilized? I though he was quite polite considering that he was communicating the fact that the careless drivers were endangering his life by blocking the crosswalk.

OK. If you say so. He could have said something and kept moving, but yes, let's all try to piss each other off. 

[kermit]

1 minute ago, HighRiseHillbilly said:

He could have said something and kept moving,

Do you honestly think that might have worked?  How do you know that a verbal strategy would have created less of a confrontation?

In my experience, saying something loudly enough to get the attention of drivers inside running cars with windows up is likely to create a shouting match.

[HighRiseHillbilly]

35 minutes ago, kermit said:

Do you honestly think that might have worked?  How do you know that a verbal strategy would have created less of a confrontation?

In my experience, saying something loudly enough to get the attention of drivers inside running cars with windows up is likely to create a shouting match.

Yes. A wave with a smile or the verbal equivalent of the "polite honk" would have worked. If it was me or most of the people I know, a polite reminder would have been sufficient. 

I'm not sure how to address that second statement....why try being mature and civilized at the risk of getting shouted at when you can just stand there or beat on the car which could provoke a response that is similar or worse.....that is what you said and I'm just going to leave that one there.

 

Seriously, this whole conversation is subjective and I'm done with it. Have a nice day.

[Popsickle]

43 minutes ago, kermit said:

Do you honestly think that might have worked?  How do you know that a verbal strategy would have created less of a confrontation?

In my experience, saying something loudly enough to get the attention of drivers inside running cars with windows up is likely to create a shouting match.

Standing in front of the car is idiotic, if you feel endangered crossing in front of the car in the cross walk, you're only putting yourself into more danger my doing what the pedestrian did. 

The only way to improve drivers in Charlotte is education and better signage, like the "don't block the box" signs all over DC. 

 

[nicholas]

1 hour ago, kermit said:

What other ways does an individual have to speak out against stupid, incompetent or careless drivers? How else will drivers know that blocking the crosswalk is dangerous? We all know from experience that its not going to get done through enforcement. 

I think your labeling his actions as stupid is a subjective judgement which is coming from a position of bias.

I mean....you could always carry a few of these and hand them out when you encounter those kinds of drivers! 

Edited March 3, 2018 by nicholas

[kermit]

12 minutes ago, HighRiseHillbilly said:

Yes. A wave with a smile or the verbal equivalent of the "polite honk" would have worked. If it was me or most of the people I know, a polite reminder would have been sufficient. 

I'm not sure how to address that second statement....why try being mature and civilized at the risk of getting shouted at when you can just stand there or beat on the car which could provoke a response that is similar or worse.....that is what you said and I'm just going to leave that one there.

I think its disingenuous to suggest that a pedestrian smiling and waving to someone in a two ton privacy bubble can effectively get any point across.  People drive so they can  wall out the rest of the world -- drivers have lots of ways of avoiding eye contact or any meaningful exchange with pedestrians. If it were actually possible to  communicate with drivers resistance strategies like in the video would not be necessary.

[deleted]

1 hour ago, kermit said:

People drive so they can  wall out the rest of the world --

Or, you know, to get places.  That's why I usually drive...

[KJHburg]

Will Charlotte become the city of bikes?    https://www.bisnow.com/charlotte/news/office/if-charlotte-is-to-become-a-city-of-bikes-will-developers-do-their-part-85483?be=kj%40charlottehomes.com&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mon-05-mar-2018-000000-0500_charlotte-re

[dubone]

Obviously we have a lot further to go to be a "city of bikes", it isn't like we will ever be Amsterdam or Maoist Beijing.  

Regardless, the best way to grow and densify over time with as little increase in congestion as possible is to support ALL of the alternatives to 1-person-in-a-car trips.   UberLyft helps some because it reduces parking needs and need to own a car for some.  I was car-free for 7 years, and my 2 least favorite miserable situations were when I had to take a long city bus trip or any taxi trip.  Uber/Lyft meets the needs for medium distance trips, allowing as many of the remainder to be walking/biking/carpools.    Then you look at the bike trips and the bike share (the topic here) solve a huge gap in personal bike which is one-way trips.   Then the new dockless shares solve the problem of one-way trips no where near a B-cycle station.  

It is almost to the point where I can envision giving up a car again, but even with a car, it is ideal to leave it home as much as feasible, especially for nightlife, which I now walk, carpool or bike share and then walk or Uber/Lyft home. 

 

As more people take bikes and bike shares, bike parking is a necessity as part of our urban street furniture and basic infrastructure at as many shops, apartments, and activity centers as possible.  It isn't expensive, and the article shows some innovative designs for it.  But even the simples bike parking is cheap, it just needs to be considered and added now that bikes are more prevalent.  

  

[kermit]

The city manager memo today had some usage stats on the dockless bike share pilot program. Since the November start of the program:

• 10,000 people have 'tried' dockless bikeshare
• 40,000 trips have been taken
• 33,000 miles have been biked

http://charlottenc.gov/CityManager/CommunicationstoCouncil/Documents/Memo 8 March 8, 2018.pdf

I made two Limebike trips last night. The free reposistioning bikes have been good to me, I have made 11 rides and it has cost me a total of $1 so far.

EDIT: The O has more detailed numbers: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article204199764.html

Quote

Derrick Ko, Spin’s co-founder, said in an email that Spin’s bike utilization is nearing two rides per day. He said Charlotte is “extremely lucrative.”

......

The city and the companies received 334 complaints about the bikes in January: 35 were about the bikes blocking the sidewalk and 61 about them being left on private property.

^ That makes me wonder what the other 238 complaints were about

 

Edited March 8, 2018 by kermit

[pathb]

PDF attached- infographic of dockless bikeshare data shared by CDOT.

RidershipData-January.pdf

[Spartan]

On 2/17/2018 at 4:18 PM, HighRiseHillbilly said:

This is equally obnoxious. 

I try to be a good citizen, but traffic doesn't always move the way you think it will in front of, beside, or behind you.

If you're going the speed limit and paying attention to the road, it's almost never an issue to stop behind the stop bar. It's true that once in a while you can't help it, but the rate at which it happens in Charlotte compared to other cities I've been to suggests that the problem is not accidental. Ignorance and culture is probably the bigger culprit here. People who exist only in the burbs and never really walk anywhere other than for recreation or in their subdivision probably don't think about what it's like to be a pedestrian in a city. Any why should they? The roads are designed for cars to go around corners while barely slowing down, and buildings are so far apart that walking between them is a ludicrous idea. My point is, I don't believe that people do it intentionally, but I'm not going to hold it against people who are actively trying to change the culture.

On 2/28/2018 at 3:49 PM, JBS said:

In Wesley Heights adjacent to the greenway...beautiful!  Seeing progress elsewhere also (and a lot more utilization with the warm weather).

This is literally the #1 thing that irritates me about bike share bikes. Bike racks are completely unnecessary so please stop using them.

[kermit]

ofo is currently giving two months free with signup.

[deleted]

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/transportation/sd-me-bikes-merchants-20180308-story.html#nt=oft12aH-2gp2

Other cities having similar issues.  Wonder why the companies don't learn from past roll-outs?    

[kermit]

two random bits:

1) ofo bikes are too damn small for anybody taller than 5'6'' They have very limited seat travel.

2) If you get your blaze pizza in two of their leftover boxes (rather than the standard size box), they will fit perfectly in the basket of an ofo.

#newsucanuse

[Scribe]

Gotta say, they have really cleaned up their act. I do not see 22k bikes at Romare Bearden Park. And where ever I go I seem to find at least 2 of the brands available.

The furthest away from Uptown and SouthEnd I've seen one was near the Providence and Fairview intersection!

[nmundo]

I saw one this morning at my apartment complex in university. I was wondering how long it would take them to creep up here now that the light rail is running

 

[cjd5050]

On 3/9/2018 at 4:33 PM, JBS said:

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/transportation/sd-me-bikes-merchants-20180308-story.html#nt=oft12aH-2gp2

Other cities having similar issues.  Wonder why the companies don't learn from past roll-outs?    

Coronado is doubling down.  

Coronado to impound dockless bikes, fine companies (http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/communities/south-county/sd-se-coronado-dockless-20180319-story.html)

 

[dubone]

Hopefully we don't do that.  They really do encourage bicycle use, which really does keep people out of automobiles.    We just need to require them to do better, or just outright tax them to put in bike racks in hundreds of places.  

[cjd5050]

1 hour ago, dubone said:

Hopefully we don't do that.  They really do encourage bicycle use, which really does keep people out of automobiles.    We just need to require them to do better, or just outright tax them to put in bike racks in hundreds of places.  

The sad part of it is of any place that I have ever been to, Coronado is the perfect city for shared bikes.  It's a awesome 15 minute ferry from San Diego and a perfect setup for day tourists.  Has very wide streets that are perfect for bike lanes and a super simple street grid that makes navigation a breeze.  

This is the same city that wanted the US Navy to dig a tunnel from the Coronado Bridge to the North Island base so locals wouldn't have to be disturbed with military traffic.  

Coronado is NIMBYtown, USA with a city slogan of 'Get off my lawn'...

[dubone]

I think the NIMBY attitude is a risk with these bikes because people's neighbors are not respectful about how they stop and place the bikes, but most of us can stop and say to ourselves how much benefit they do if they increase non-auto trips. 

But they really do need to something, especially with their kickstands.  It is insane how many have fallen over. 

And also, at the moment, the dockless bikes are physically new, but the city needs to have a policy that requires a certain level of brake testing, light testing, etc.   The B-Cycle bikes are an absolutely unsafe with their lack of braking power.  Especially given their more official nature and federal grants supporting the expansion, they should put some money into testing their bikes.  

They don't even have a good system for reporting maintenance issues like the dockless do.  You have to kick off an email and write them.   

People complain about the chaotic parking jobs of the dockless, but without braking power, far more serious results can happen.   I have switched more to the dockless because of this safety issue (and the convenience)

[15895]

I don't think its an issue anymore. I've only seen one bike knocked over at 7th street. First one I've seen knocked down in a long time. I've seen dozens and dozens of instances of these bikes being in bike racks. Which, btw, is something people complain about also. In my opinion, the problem has been solved and its a nonissue anymore. I'm sure improvements can be made, but I'd hardly call it an issue anymore.  If anything, Charlotte is to blame for lack of bike infrastructure 

Edited March 22, 2018 by AirNostrumMAD

[dubone]

I've probably seen a dozen knocked over in the last 24 hours.  It's an issue still. 

I whole-heartedly agree that much of this would not be an issue if bike infrastructure were move common.  An increase in how many bikes are out there is not implicitly a problem.   I like the idea of leaning in on all this and just remedying the negatives while continuing the grow the number.   The market is clearly there.