The Globe’s Dante Ramos does a good job taking on the bike share critics and explaining why it’s important regionally.
A dedicated bus lane, by some estimates, serves about 6,000 people. A bike lane of the same width can serve about 5,200 people. A standard vehicle lane, in contrast, serves 900 cars and trucks an hour — many of which have only one person in them. Given these numbers, cities should be redesigning streets to accommodate bikes, scooters, skateboards, motorized unicycles, and other vehicles that take up very little space.
Related: WCVB Growing pains for bike share program
Somebody brought a couple of Limebikes to Needham Center and Needham Heights this weekend, and I used one to cycle home – I left it on the sidewalk in front of our house and even at 11:00pm it was quickly rented by somebody else within about an hour.
But I wish:
1) that the seatpost would accommodate people over 6 feet
2) that the gears were either more numerous or better-spaced
Montreal has 7-speed Bixi bikes that check both boxes, and they’re awesome.
I like the concept, but it needs refinement. Groups of bikes should be in docking stations, not just lined up on the sidewalk. Limebike chose some locations that are too close to wheel chair ramps, which compromises visibility. And some locations block passengers from opening car doors in metered parking spaces…
I also feel that there should be some renumeration to the city. The company is using public property to operate a private business. Also, what’s the deal with helmets? If the company does not provide helmets, they should not be allowed to operate in Newton.
My limited understanding of helmets is that the proper fit is very important. That’s why I’m not sure shared helmets are a good idea (that and, uh, head lice or other hair carrying critters). I just purchased a second helmet to keep at the office so I can hop on a Lime Bike at any time during my work day.
As for the locations of the bikes today, that’s just for the initial launch. I’m already seeing many of the original bike locations thin out with the bikes being spread around.
Back in 2013 some MIT students came up with a helmet dispensing machine for Hubway users named HelmetHub. The business plan called for the machines to be installed at every Hubway dock. After use, the helmets could be returned to another machine where they would be collected, cleaned, and recirculated.
But only a single HelmetHub station was ever installed – at the end of the 2013 Hubway season. AFAIK it didn’t return in 2014. The price was $2 for a 24-hour helmet rental or $12 to purchase. It would have been difficult to ever achieve any economies of scale, since the addressable market was the subset of an already pretty limited user population.
Greg’s got the right idea. I always keep a spare helmet (and a couple of spare grocery shopping bags) at the office.
helmets are very cheap actually. And CVS near major bike rental docks began to stock them in boston for just such a reason.
I used to keep a spare helmet attached to my bag, then stopped. I think I’ll start again.
Someone also made a foldable helmet, which was really cool.
Shared helmets may not be a good idea. But advocating for their use in general is. Especially with distracted drivers everywhere . As the old saying goes, broken bones will heal; broken brains will not. Of course, we hope neither will happen, but a helmet is the best way to prevent against a bad injury from becoming catastrophic. And it’s true that they need not be expensive.
Good column by Dante. I like the idea of the bikes, both docked and dockless. And I think that once they are around for a while, even the fairly garish Limebikes will begin to blend into the background. Also, most of the concerns I’ve heard are more oriented to potential issues — what will happen when they are left in a bad spot, what if they become an eyesore. Let’s wait and see if those concerns manifest themselves. If so, then we get rid of them. But don’t assume it’ll be a problem. (My main “what if” concern is how well they will do in the winter — how much they’ll be used, whether they’ll stand up to the weather.)
That said, I don’t quite agree with the numbers in this particular excerpt. Sure the “bike lane of the same width can serve about 5,200 people” but we don’t quite have that interest level yet! Certainly won’t have it in the winter. Plus that sounds like the study is picturing a lane with shoulder-to-shoulder (handlebar-to-handlebar?) cyclists/scooterists. That would be mayhem, as anyone who has ridden in a group knows. Maybe it’s better explained in the full study.
Bike lane can serve 5200 people…per hour? Per per day? per century ? Statement has time only for cars. Propaganda and/or innumeracy.
Btw in Amsterdam, where bikes are plentiful, there are very few people wearing helmets. The reason is that the cars are really small, streets are small, traffic in village centers moves slowly. They also have pot and hashish coffee shops btw….the number of SUVs driving around Newton is very surprising to me.
Also, to be more positive, I believe we’re not going to get aging boomers on their bikes for commuting. All the avid bikers I know do so on the weekends.
Better to, for instance, when upgrading the lots on Pelham and Pleasant streets in Newton Center, put in some electric car charging stations. We should encourage electric cars which I believe are more likely to be used for everyday commuting by people over 30.
The Limebikes are already an eyesore scattered about randomly and continuously on curbs and berms where once only trash barrels would be present for < 24hrs/week. A nice idea in need of an improved implementation.
The main problem is that we have a for profit tech company dumping bikes into communities and letting the residents cleanup up any mess they leave.
I commute approximately 2 miles to work every day from Nonantum to West Newton. On my trip yesterday, I counted 19 bikes scattered here and there along that two miles. In Nonantum Square, there were several bikes that had been knocked over and we laying strewn across the sidewalks. Then there was the bike dumped in the Cheeescake Brook along Albemarle Rd. So much for considerate placement of bikes in Newton. Great concept….terrible implementation.
Should I show the many pictures I have of cars blocking crosswalks, parked on sidewalks and parked blocking visibility at corners? What about double parked trucks in our village centers? What about unshovewd sidwalks. If you are worried about Lime Bikes making it harder to walk please let me know you are upset about these situations too.
@Alicia – yes, I’m very upset with cars or trucks parked in inappropriate places. I live 2 blocks from a corner that frequently has cars stopped in a way that blocks my sight lines when I have to turn. I’m also upset about the constant parade of cars making U-turns on Lincoln St. (have yet to see one get stopped and ticketed). And every winter there’s a huge snow pile on the corner of my block that blocks people from being able to cross the street and blocks the sight lines of cars wanting to turn.
And, yes, I’m also unhappy with Lime bikes blocking the sidewalks and making it difficult for people pushing strollers or in wheelchairs to get through. I’d like to see Lime install some bike racks at various spots where people are likely to drop off the bikes or want to pick them up, and encourage bike sharers to use them.
TheWholeTruth,
I remember seeing a lime bike towards the end of cheesecake and wondered “how long until someone throws it in”. The answer is “not long” :)
You can pretty much guarantee this will be repeated over and over. Special thanks to lime bike for ruining the brook for residents for next few years
My family did the Cheesecake Brook cleanup during Newton Serves for years and inevitably, someone pulled out a bike each time. You can’t blame LimeBikes for that!