Bikeshare OK’d To Roll Into Town

by Markeshia Ricks | May 3, 2017 11:59 am

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Posted to: City Hall, Transportation

The city’s future bike share program got the green light to roll into neighborhoods near you. The Board of Alders gave that unanimous approval at its meeting at City Hall Tuesday. It authorized a contract for New Haven Smart Mobility LLC to operate the program, which will make bikes available at stations through the city for paid members. Smart Mobility, which already operates successful bike share programs in Hoboken, N.J., West Palm Beach, Fla., and New Rochelle, N.Y., will be responsible for establishing a 30 station, 300 bike system for New Haven. After negotiating with alders, the contract with Smart Mobility went from 10 years to five years, with the possibility for two, five-year renewals with an approval from the board. The contract also guarantees that the first phase of the roll-out of the program will put bike stands at or near Lincoln-Bassett School, Roberto Clemente School, Columbus School, and Hillhouse High School said Morris Cove Alder Sal DeCola, who serves as the City Services and Environmental Policy Committee. A member of the Board of Alders, designated by the board president, also will participate in the development of the bike share implementation plan. DeCola commended the city’s Department of Transportation, Traffic and Parking, Corporation Counsel, Smart Mobility and local bike activists for helping improve the ultimate contract. East Rock Alder Anna Festa extended her gratitude to all the involved parties for working together to develop an inclusive contract that would put bike share stations beyond downtown. City Transit Director Doug Hauslden said having alders give final passage to the allow the city to sign a contract with Smart Mobility was a “very large project milestone for New Haven bike share.” Hauslden said crossing this threshold means that Smart Mobility has the ability to now start hiring local. He said that within the next 48 to 72 hours a job description posting for a program manager will likely go up. One place that Smart Mobility will be looking for possible help to fill that and other positions that might develop because of the new bike share program is through New Haven Works, a job-placement program set up through the city major employers like Yale. “That person will be someone who can go into our communities, and know New Haven well enough to really speak from their heart,” Hausladen said of the future program manager. “They also will have to be engaging enough and skilled enough to plan and operate a 300 bike system.” The city and Smart Mobility also will be looking for property owners, companies, and foundations who want to sponsor the system. Smart Mobility will be operating the bike share with no money from the city. It will have to raise money to sustain itself through rental fees, memberships, sponsorships, and advertising. Hausladen said that could take the form of a number of small sponsorships, but it would a larger sponsor—one might cover the whole thing at about $400,000 a year, or even $800,000 for two years, would be ideal. Speaking Of Rolling ... A slightly weakened Wooster Square Alder Aaron Greenberg rolled into Tuesday’s meeting to perform his aldermanic duties, and his colleagues made sure to show him and his cause some love. Greenberg, a member of Local 33, is one of eight teaching fellows at Yale University who has embarked on A slightly weakened Wooster Square Alder Aaron Greenberg rolled into Tuesday’s meeting to perform his aldermanic duties, and his colleagues made sure to show him and his cause some love. Greenberg, a member of Local 33, is one of eight teaching fellows at Yale University who has embarked on a hunger strike until university officials meet to negotiate a union contract . The strike is in its seventh day. Hill Alder Evelyn Rodriguez led the wave of support by rising to say that she supported Greenberg and his fellow strikers and that she hoped “that their meeting will happen soon, and that their meeting will be productive for the university, for the students and the entire city.” “I also rise in support of Local 33 and my colleague Aaron Greenberg as well as everyone who has taken a stand,” Edgewood Alder Evette Hamilton said. “We support you, Aaron. Stay strong, though we know it is not easy. We love you. We care about you and we’ll be here until the end.” Newhallville Alder Delphine Clyburn said that her church and others were praying for Greenberg and his comrades. “We’re going to be praying with you until they come to the table and negotiate,” she said. “We love you.” Fair Haven Alder Ken Reveiz called the commitment and the sacrifice of the strikers, “incredible to witness.” Greenberg, speaking slowly, said that it was moving to have the support of his colleagues, with whom he has worked for years and for whom he has much respect. “They are leaders in the community and on the board,” he said. “They are supporting me and my colleagues in Local 33 as we do a very difficult thing that is getting more difficult by the day. We aren’t eating, but we are very committed and we are really sustained by this kind of support.”

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posted by: THREEFIFTHS on May 3, 2017 8:40am TTP’s Mike Pinto and Doug Hausladen with Smart Mobility managing partner Carlos Pujols Tuesday night at City Hall. Again take back New Haven Doug Hausladen along with his bike hit men and the sell out Judas Goat BOA. Trust me.In five years or less this program will fail just like these states. The Four Horsemen of the Bike Share Apocalypse

What kept Seattle’s Pronto! bike share program from thriving? Turns out it was several things.The program’s failure might seem like something of a surprise: One of the bike-friendliest cities in the U.S. (ranked fifth by Cycling in 2016), Seattle seems a lot like the kind of affluent, outdoorsy place that should embrace bike sharing. Instead, Pronto! will come to an end in March. If bike sharing could successfully spread to 119 U.S. cities since 2008, why couldn’t it work in the Emerald City? 1) Low ridership “No one’s going to pay for an all-day bike pass if your bikes don’t go everywhere they’re trying to go.” 2) Delayed expansion 3) Lack of funding We’ve lost the whole story of why we want bike share. What purpose does it serve?” 4) Politics https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2017/01/seattle-bike-share-pronto-goes-under/513575/ Why America’s Grand Bike-Sharing Experiment Is Failing http://business.time.com/2014/01/21/bixi-bankruptcy-threatens-bike-sharing-in-america/ Also you can not let people use these bikes with out bike helmets.Look at what happen here Melbourne Bike Share – Why is it Failing?

Many people allege that the bike helmet law is causing the Melbourne Bike Share to fail. https://averagejoecyclist.com/melbourne-bike-share-failing/ Even in the country Australia. Australian bike hire schemes fail because of helmet laws Like I said give it five years or less and the program will be gone. I am the voice of the people.

posted by: ADAK on May 3, 2017 9:09am 3/5ths—You are not the voice of the people. I am a person, and you do not speak for me. As someone who doesn’t own a car, or even a bike, I look forward to the bike shares coming to town. The buses can be unreliable, and some days I’m sure I’ll want to ride downtown and enjoy the weather. Now if only that cycletrack ever got finished…

posted by: William Kurtz I am glad that this the city is taking this step, but I also worry that the cart is quite a bit ahead of the horse—or the shareable bike is ahead of the separated lane, as it were. The Long Wharf lane is painted but still not delineated from the car lane. Drivers use it for parking and at the East St./Water St. end there is a dangerous situation where drivers cut across it and use it to set up for their right turns across the Tomlinson Bridge. The bike share can definitely succeed, but it will surely fail if the city doesn’t pick up the pace on improving the infrastructure needed to make people safe—and feel safe—while they’re using it. In the six years that Janette Sadik-Khan was DOT Commissioner in NYC, they put in something like 400 miles of bike lanes.

posted by: LookOut on May 3, 2017 10:29am Bravo New Haven, Great to see this moving forward. But please remember, it is not complete. We will need financial support, marketing support and neighborhood support. It is critical to ignore those who want to keep us in the dark ages and move towards our potential

posted by: THREEFIFTHS on May 3, 2017 10:46am posted by: ADAK on May 3, 2017 9:09am 3/5ths—You are not the voice of the people. I am a person, and you do not speak for me. As someone who doesn’t own a car, or even a bike, I look forward to the bike shares coming to town. The buses can be unreliable, and some days I’m sure I’ll want to ride downtown and enjoy the weather. Now if only that cycletrack ever got finished… Keep drinking the Kool-Aid.This bike share program will fail.You said I’ll want to ride downtown and enjoy the weather. Bikeshare is only reliable when the racks contain bikes: if they’re all being used, it could mean showing up to work late or not at all.Also, cycling to work (though possible) is less attractive in bad weather.Also when it comes to

low-income communities,It is a less obvious choice due to the fact that because the bulk of low-income jobs aren’t downtown - they’re out in the suburbs. Again keep drinking the kool -Aid.This bike share program will fail.

My Bad I forgot.Also how will people in the low-income communities pay to rent the Bikes? I am the voice of the people.

posted by: Kevin McCarthy on May 3, 2017 11:39am I’m looking forward to the roll-out of this program. But for it to work, the stations will have to be close together. Since only 30 stations will be built in the first phase, most of the city won’t be covered (I suspect Dwight will have decent coverage; Morris Cove, not so much). Even if the program is substantially expanded, it is likely that residents of many areas won’t be able to take advantage of it. This is not an argument against setting up the program, but it should not be oversold.

posted by: dew21 on May 3, 2017 12:36pm Before we go attempting to flood New Haven streets with more bicycles, has any thought been given to those who regularly violate traffic laws by cycling on sidewalks, cycling the wrong way on one way streets, cycling through traffic lights and stop signs, failing to use appropriate hand signals to let cars now their movement intentions, and the list goes on??? I am a cyclist and ride into New Haven during the warm months, and it is clear that the many cyclists who do not follow the legal traffic rules make the streets significantly more dangerous for those of us who do. When cars think that we (rule followers) should also be on the sidewalk, or rolling a light to get out of their way, or ignore our hand signals for a left or right turn, we are in danger. Why would you want to flood the city with more untrained and inexperienced cyclists before solving these basic issues?! Will there be a training program? Will materials or guides be provided for members/users which outline the traffic laws for cyclists?

You note that many of the sites for the share will be at schools. Will we be knowingly endangering our youth by sending them out on bicycles in streets that have no enforcement for bike safety and traffic law? This seems disastrous. I live in the Annex/Cove- is there a plan for us to safely ride into New Haven rather than praying each day before we head out on Forbes Avenue over the old bridge? It would seem there are other requisite preparations to be made long before the acquisition of bikes and the handing over of a lot of our money. This is definitely cart-before-bike thinking, or dare I say, an effort to gain votes ahead of upcoming elections. Shiny bikes and lanes don’t make up for issues elsewhere. Also, I’m not sure what the Yale hunger strike has to do with the bike share program. It’s too bad that line space couldn’t have been used to provide additional details about this program, rather than yet another high-five for the hunger strike.

posted by: BetweenTwoRocks I, for one, am looking forward to this. I think it’s gonna be great, especially for people visiting from the suburbs. It’s not really a public transportation thing, it’s more likely to be used as a tourist thing, like when I went to Washington DC and used Capitol Bike Share, it was great—going from different neighborhoods without having to get a taxi. Employees of the bike share do constant re-balancing so that stations have an appropriate amount of bikes. It’s a solveable problem. Is it going to solve everyone’s problems? No. If you want to live in the city and work in the suburbs, you’re gonna have issues with a variety of types of transportation. It’s hard for New Haven to be everything to everyone. But to cater to the pro-car crowd like THREEFIFTHS who seems super worried about gentrification and 0% concerned about the pollution he/she contributes to the city… eh. Sorry, but no need. I’m sorry your car isn’t perfectly catered to. Given the costs you put on other citizens—pollution, cost of roads, the danger to pedestrians/cyclists—tough luck.

posted by: NHVCyclist on May 3, 2017 12:59pm Assuming there is a station fairly close to my house, these will become my new gym/grocery store/errands bike. Using the monthly subscription option. And the 30-year-old department store bike I currently use for this can be donated, and given to someone who can’t afford to the subscription and/or needs to rely on bike transportation for work.

posted by: ADAK on May 3, 2017 1:05pm Low-income residents will pay for the bikeshare with their low-income. AKA: it’s cheaper than owning or leasing a car. Signed, the voice of the people.

posted by: Nathan on May 3, 2017 1:13pm “Also, I’m not sure what the Yale hunger strike has to do with the bike share program. It’s too bad that line space couldn’t have been used to provide additional details about this program, rather than yet another high-five for the hunger strike.” That was a weird diversion from the supposed topic of the article and isn’t the first time that has happened in NHI articles. Should be removed to separate article or joined with the other existing articles singing praises about Local 33.

posted by: Noteworthy on May 3, 2017 1:20pm Ride This Notes: 1. I suppose this means that more parking spaces will be taken over as hosts for the bikes? 2. We already have massive bike racks - never with more than a few bikes in them. 3. LOL - Bike share for people in the suburbs? Really. Because there are so many tourist spots they can’t get to on foot? This is not Washington DC. 4. Greenberg is so weak he can’t walk because he’s fasting for the pampered students at Yale. The ungrateful ones started a legal process. The process should play out with the NLRB, a process that Greenberg in his union role should appreciate and know. 5. They have a tent over there - they should charge admission to this circus and use the money to give themselves a raise. This sideshow had no business in this story.

posted by: RobotShlomo on May 3, 2017 4:27pm I, for one, am looking forward to this. I think it’s gonna be great, especially for people visiting from the suburbs. It’s not really a public transportation thing, it’s more likely to be used as a tourist thing, like when I went to Washington DC and used Capitol Bike Share, it was great—going from different neighborhoods without having to get a taxi. This is one of those times I wish we could embed YouTube videos.The only response to this is Bender from Futurama laughing, and then saying “oh wait, you’re serious. Let me laugh even harder”. We need a moment of honesty here, and there’s one question that has to be answered; Who is a “bike share” really for? Is it for people who live in New Haven who do most of the living, working and dying here? Or is it to exclusively going to cater to Yale students, so they can go from dorm to class, and back? Because that’s what it really looks like. This isn’t as simple as vilifying those as being “pro-car” or anti-bicycle, and as much as Millennials and hipsters don’t want to acknowledge it, unlike other countries, we are not setup to have bicycles as our main mode of transportation. I know there’s this dream of “freelance graphic designers” riding a penny farthing to an office once a week, and taking an elevator to a fifth floor co-op, however the reality is that jobs have migrated outside of the city centers. We don’t have the same level of public transit. What we do have doesn’t take us anywhere close to where we want to go. A bike share isn’t going to benefit someone who has to commute to Stamford, and we sure as hell don’t get the same level of tourists as New York or DC. And as I’ve pointed out before, Citi Bike had their bikes STOLEN upon delivery. How long will they last here? I’m not necessarily against this, but I have serious doubts. And knowing New Haven like I do, these things have a history of starting with the best of intentions, and then quickly going south.

posted by: THREEFIFTHS on May 3, 2017 4:43pm posted by: BetweenTwoRocks on May 3, 2017 12:57pm But to cater to the pro-car crowd like THREEFIFTHS who seems super worried about gentrification and 0% concerned about the pollution he/she contributes to the city… eh. Sorry, but no need. I’m sorry your car isn’t perfectly catered to. Given the costs you put on other citizens—pollution, cost of roads, the danger to pedestrians/cyclists—tough luck. But driving cars do not do this. Cycling Decrease Fertility in Men. It is generally accepted that higher scrotal temperatures can cause deleterious effects on spermatogenesis. Studies have shown that sperm concentration and count plummet when testicles are overheated Studies show that the longer and the more often you ride your bike, the more likely your scrotal temperature will drastically increase. . So give your buddies a chance to breathe and let them do what they do naturally: hang. http://www.dontcookyourballs.com/are-helmets-doing-enough-2

How Bicycling Affects Male Fertility By Dr. Ruben Alvero Among couples experiencing infertility, the men frequently ask whether bicycling, which is extraordinarily popular in Colorado, has any impact on their sperm appearance or function. The short answer is that it certainly appears to, and that men seeking pregnancy should consider either postponing their cycling activities or modifying them. https://arm.coloradowomenshealth.com/doctors-blog/bicycling-affect-male-fertility/ Keep On riding your bike tough luck.. I am the voice of the people

posted by: THREEFIFTHS on May 3, 2017 5:01pm My bad I forgot.I heard from my source at city hall that they are looking to bring something like this for New Haven down by Long Wharf in the future. New York Today: Our City’s New Ferry. The service, with six lines, will eventually link Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx along the East River. Ferries on two of those lines — the Rockaway, Queens, route and the existing East River route — are up and running, with the South Brooklyn and Astoria routes expected to follow in August, and the Lower East Side and the Bronx routes in the summer of 2018.A one-way trip will cost $2.75, the same as a subway ride. For $1 more, you can bring your bicycle onboard. (You can also purchase a 30-day pass.)All routes have battery-charging stations and concession stands, and Wi-Fi is on its way, too. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/01/nyregion/new-york-today-citywide-ferry-service-begins.html?smid=fb-share I am the voice of the people.

posted by: Kevin McCarthy on May 4, 2017 6:39am Noteworthy, some of the stations will take up parking spaces, some of them (including the ones at the schools) don’t need to. Citywide, there are thousands of on-street parking spaces. The elimination of two dozen or so, spread across a large part of the city, is simply not that big of a deal. Parking spaces are scarce downtown, but there will likely be only two or three stations there. The city could put one of these stations in front of City Hall, where the existing bike racks are located. BTW, I bike most days and often have to lock my bike to a street sign because the nearest bike rack is full. One small suggestion to deal with biking on sidewalks. The city/Town Green District could stencil sidewalks on Chapel and other heavily trafficked streets with signs saying that bikes aren’t allowed on sidewalks in the city. In some cases, people (cyclists and drivers) are simply unaware of the law.

posted by: BetweenTwoRocks This definitely isn’t geared towards Yale. Because Yale already has their own bike share. They don’t need it from us. I love how THREEFIFTHS defend his/her pollution-spewing car by pointing out that bicycles decrease fertility. No idea what the two have to do with each other but bravo?

posted by: RobotShlomo on May 4, 2017 2:56pm This definitely isn’t geared towards Yale. Because Yale already has their own bike share. They don’t need it from us. I love how THREEFIFTHS defend his/her pollution-spewing car by pointing out that bicycles decrease fertility. No idea what the two have to do with each other but bravo? I don’t believe you, and why hasn’t anyone come forward and said that? And I wouldn’t be so quick with the whole “pollution spewing” stuff. Those cloud servers you’re most likely plugged into and use on your phone are powered by COAL FIRED POWER PLANTS, which have a bigger environmental impact than his car. http://time.com/46777/your-data-is-dirty-the-carbon-price-of-cloud-computing/

posted by: brownetowne on May 5, 2017 9:50am “This definitely isn’t geared towards Yale. Because Yale already has their own bike share. They don’t need it from us.” That’s right: Yale has it’s own program that was begun a couple years ago. They started small to see how it would do. Although it still exists, it does not appear to me to have expanded much at all. I see fewer of these white “zagster” bikes and designated parking stations than when the program began. It’s shocking that nobody with knowledge of this program has been able to contribute to this discussion. So, the existence of Yale’s program could mean two things: This new program is geared to “the people” of New Haven, and not to the Ivy League students. The new program may not be be too successful, since the existing program downtown doesn’t seem to be either.