SHARE

By Kirsten Crow of the Caller-Times

A new program coming to downtown could see more two-wheel traffic in the city's urban core.

A bike share program, which allows users to rent a bike for a limited time, is expected to launch within two months, and would include as many as 40 bikes at seven stations in the downtown, uptown and Sports, Entertainment and Arts areas.

An initiative of the Downtown Management District, it's expected the City Council will consider contributing funding to the program Tuesday. An agenda item shows discussion on allocating $90,000 in parking meter revenue and downtown reinvestment funds to support the bike share program. It would amount to $30,000 per year during the next three years.

Program users would likely include tourists and downtown area residents, said Terry Sweeney, executive director of the Downtown Management District.

"We want (tourists) to use the bikes to get around and discover our downtown, go to see our businesses and spend money," he said. "(Also) residents who are leasing apartments and their units are typically smaller, and so they don't have as much storage — and you have to purchase a bike, and you have maintain it. And they'd rather have the convenience of a bike share program."

Other cities that boast bike share programs include San Antonio, Fort Worth and Austin.

Of the city's proposed $30,000 in funding per year, $10,000 would come from the city's parking improvement fund and $20,000 from downtown tax increment reinvestment zone, according to the council agenda. The parking improvements fund is financed through 20 percent of parking meter revenue downtown, and can be used for downtown tourism programs, beautification, construction and landscaping projects. The downtown tax increment reinvestment zone derives its funding from a percentage of appreciated property value in the greater downtown area, and can only be invested in the same area.

City Councilwoman Carolyn Vaughn, who heads the committee that oversees the downtown reinvestment zone funding, said she believed the program would appeal to tourists, but also to college students and millennials.

"I think it's a fabulous idea," she said. "I think a lot of people will use it once they get used to it."

It's also thought bike sharing would help with "the last mile" from bus stops, Sweeney said.

Kelly Coughlin, spokeswoman for the Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority, said the program helps fill a gap in public transportation, providing a healthy way for transit customers to get from a bus stop to their given destination. The agency has committed to $36,000 in funding for one year, she said.

The program involves a three-year lease with Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company Zagster, which will cost $76,000 per year, according to council documents. It is a turnkey lease, with the DMD serving as the program manager and promoter, Sweeney said.

Contributors for initial annual funding include the Downtown Management District at $10,000, the presentation shows.

DMD is working to recruit private partners to help support the bike share program, Sweeney said.

The bicycle installations can be moved, he said. But proposed stations include areas around La Retama Park, the RTA's customer center, the Lawrence Street T-Head, the Peoples Street T-Head, along Shoreline Boulevard near Peoples Street, Bayshore Park and in the Shoreline area near the Sports, Entertainment and Arts District, according to the presentation.

The bicycles also come with locks so users can secure them in areas that aren't at the formal stations, Sweeney said. The DMD is looking at using grants for a bike rack program.

Twitter: @CallerCrow

IF YOU GO

Reinvestment Zone No. 3 meeting

When: 9:30 a.m. Tuesday

Where: Council chambers at City Hall, 1201 Leopard St.

City Council meeting

When: 11:30 a.m. Tuesday

Where: Council chambers at City Hall, 1201 Leopard St.

ALSO ON THE AGENDA

Vote on $500,000 contract with Hazen and Sawyer for a water system assessment. The assessment is intended to put into place "short-term improvements and modifications," according to the presentation. The assessment, which will include analysis of water quality and treatment, is expected to be finished in August, state council documents.

Vote on $2.72 million for expedited studies, programs and capital expenditures to address water quality improvements.

Vote on adopting a tax rate Sept. 13. City officials are proposing a property tax rate is $0.606264 per $100 valuation.

Discussion on ballot language for propositions that include using a one-eighth cent sales tax toward "economic development, affordable housing and arterial and collector streets," and allowing the city to create a dedicated fund for residential road reconstruction. As proposed, it would be funded through a property tax of no more than 6 cents per $100 valuation.