NYC Bike Share Program Includes Multiple Locations Across Heights, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Downtown

By on May 13, 2012 2:51 am in brooklyn bridge park, Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, Sports

New York City’s Bike Share Program has announced its citywide locations that include Brooklyn’s portion of 600 city bike share stations, with multiple locations around Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn Bridge Park and nearby Downtown Brooklyn.

The initiative is sponsored by the city Department of Transportation with Alta Bicycle Share. DOT released a draft map of the first locations in this summer’s rollout of a portion of the Bike Share docking stations. Installation begins in late July. The solar-powered, wireless docking stations will be located on sidewalks, curbside road space and plazas, and accommodate between 15 and 60 bikes each.

For an interactive map that allows targeting of specific locations, see here.

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  • Jorale-man

    I was recently in London and their bike sharing program was very popular. What’s nice about this (as in London) is it’s free if your ride is within 30 minutes, so it’s possible to run an errand in Cobble Hill or Dumbo and return it to one of their stations.

  • Mark

    Jorale-man,

    The programs is NOT like the one in London. There is no free time with the NYC program unless you pay for an annual membership. “A one-day access pass to the service costs $10, entitling users to 30 minutes with a bike. After that initial half-hour, prices escalate significantly as a bike remains in use. A $95 annual access pass entitles users to 45 minutes of free biking before the graduated charges kick in.”

  • Elmer Fudd

    The number of pedestrian accidents will dramatically increase with the number of bicycles. Good luck pedestrians and bikers. Hire more people at the hospitals. You’ll need them.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    Nor was my comment “bigoted” I never mentioned any ethnicity, race or person, I just a refereed to the bar. If anyone made a connection to the supposed type of bar, it is because the stereotype exists in their mind.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    Besides it was only a joke, playing on the dullness of Montague St and hopes that the new place will generate some excitement. :)

  • Slide

    Mark I kind of like the pay structure. The bikes are for commuting or as an alternative means of transportation for regular users. For an annual fee you can ride as often as you like for free (if less than 45 minutes). It should not be priced so someone would use the bike all day for fun. That would reduce the availability of the bikes.

    I’m very excited, I think it is a great plan, now let’s hope it works in practice and not just theory.

  • David on Middagh

    Anyone notice that in the pic above, the Citibank-sponsored citibike is Citibank blue?

  • elemengee

    Elmer Fudd, you are so right! I’ve been advocating stricter adherence to traffic rules and regulations by bikers, but my pleas have fallen on deaf ears. As it is, one’s head has to be on swivel to avoid bikers coming from all directions, particularly delivery people. Citibike is a badly thought-out idea. Pedestrians beware!!!

  • David on Middagh

    I don’t think Elmer Fudd is “so right”. Where are the numbers? Actual studies show that as you add bicyclists to the streets, cars go slower. The more bikes, the greater the decrease in average speed: the drivers are being more careful.

    As for delivery people, they won’t be using these bike. Tourists might occasionally use them, despite the high cost for non-members.

  • David on Middagh

    (Continued)
    These citibikes are aimed at commuters, who would be expected to know what they’re doing. If your complaint is with bike, all bikes, any bikes, period–well, go ahead and vent, I guess.

  • Bette

    I think it has great potential but will be a bit of a mess for the first few months until the city figures out how people want to use the bikes. If it’s for commuters, then I could see taking a bike and riding into Manhattan, parking it, and catching a train to my job (I don’t know if I could make it to 37th street in 45 minutes at rush hour – that’s the kind of thing people are going to have to figure out).

    And will there be a massive rush for the bikes between 6am and 9am, leaving none for people who show up late? Will there be lines, and arguments? (of course! this is NY!). Will the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge be a ridiculous cluster of riders all trying to ride over to Manhattan at the same time (it’s already pretty crowded with competition between walkers/tourists/riders)?

    When one gets to one’s destination, will there be a crowd of people all trying to park their bikes at the same time, in the same places? Will bike parking spaces near Wall Street become full, and will commuters find themselves wandering around looking for a bike space so they can turn in their bikes before the 45 minutes is up and they have to pay more?

    Will it be super popular at first and then people will get tired of it, changing the usage numbers (and perhaps making it more appealing as the program continues)?

    There’s a lot that no one knows yet, and I think it will take a while to work out. But it has potential!!

  • Jorale-man

    @Mark thanks for the clarification. Good to know.

    @Bette all interesting questions to consider. I’m sure there will be some hitches to work out. But it is good to see NY being more in step with other international cities’ transportation initiatives rather than being woefully behind for a change (see: airports, subways, roads)…

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    Sorry, I posted my above comments on the wrong thread, They have been reposted correctly.

  • Quinn Raymond

    I’m looking forward to seeing how the bike share works out!

    Some safety information:
    “As of last year, not a single London bike-share user had been seriously injured in 4.5 million trips. Washington bike-share riders had a crash rate half that of regular cyclists, again with no serious injuries or fatalities.”

    Here’s the article:
    http://www.streetsblog.org/2012/05/09/fox-5-anchors-scotto-and-kelly-set-new-low-for-nyc-transpo-reporting/

  • http://n8han.technically.us/ Nathan H.

    “I don’t know if I could make it to 37th street in 45 minutes at rush hour – that’s the kind of thing people are going to have to figure out”

    You probably can. I ride pretty slowly and would get to Penn in about 40 minutes. My only gripe with the system is that it’s pretty costly just to find out if it works for you. The yearly pass is a good deal, but if you want to “try before you buy” you have to pay the “tourist” daily rate plus any time over 30 minutes.

    That is, unless you know someone who’s willing to loan you a pass for the day, and there’s a good chance you will. Many cyclists are going to sign up for a bike share pass just for the convenience, and we also have our own bicycles. So I expect there will be a lot of unsanctioned pass-sharing going on, which will ultimately lead to more pass-buying (and certainly more usage in general).

  • Bob Scott

    Is anyone aware of the fact that ALL of the bike stations in Brooklyn Heights proper will take over parking spaces on RESIDENTIAL streets? Is the BHA ok with this? http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/just-out-bike-share-stations-will-ax-auto-parking

  • bornhere

    I’m not understanding the details here at all. Might there ever be too many bikes dropped of at a specific location? Will this attract only those tourists who don’t mind carrying around a bike helmet?
    And both street and sidewalk space in the Heights are so limited; wherever there is extra space, it will now be crowded with bikes and travelers?
    I think the idea is interesting; but I still think NYC is one of the worst places for bike riding: how is it anything other than a stressor for bike riders, car drivers, and pedestrians?

  • Gentleman

    @Mark and Jorale-man: The pricing structure for Citi Bike similar to Barclays Cycle Hire in London – in NYC the initial free period for each ride is 30 min for daily and weekly passes, and 45 min for annual passes, and in London the free period is 30 min across the board. We’re even using the same model of bicycle. The big differences are that the prices are a bit higher here because NYC’s system is not being subsidized by the government and our stations are solar, wireless, and mobile, whereas the ones in London are dug into the ground and wired into the electrical grid.

    @ Bob Scott: Not true – there’s one on the sidewalk next to the BK Heights Promenade, the one on Montague Street takes parking on a block that’s virtually all commercial, and the one at Clinton and Tillary is in a channelized area where parking is not allowed at any time.

  • Bob Scott

    Actually, Gentleman, my statement is pretty much correct — with the arguable exception of Montague Street: “ALL of the bike stations in Brooklyn Heights proper will take over parking spaces on RESIDENTIAL streets.”

    The Cadman-Tillary placement will presumably by in the “triangle” and is on the border of BH — hardly “Brooklyn Heights proper.” Likewise, the Promenade.

    Here are the OTHER Brooklyn Heights locations:

    31 bike docks in parking lane on Henry near Joralemon: pure RESIDENTIAL.

    39 bike docks in parking lane on Clinton near State: pure RESIDENTIAL

    31 bike docks in parking lane on Clark near Henry: pure RESIDENTIAL.

    23 bike docks in parking lane on Middagh near Henry: pure RESIDENTIAL.

    Whether or not the bike share program is a good one for New York, Brooklyn Heights residents should understand that this EXTREMELY commercial use will be imposed on their relatively peaceful (and historic!) residential streets (and, for those who care, eliminate quite a few parking spaces).

    If nothing else, it boggles the mind that the BHA would be silent over such a flagrant violation of the district’s historic status.

  • Gentleman

    @bornhere –

    If a station is full, you can get a 15-minute time credit that allows you to ride to the nearest station, or wait for someone to take out one of the bikes so you can park yours (in DC, each bike turns over about 5 or 6 times a day).

    Helmets are only mandatory for children 13 and younger, and the minimum age for checking out a Citi Bike is 16. However, if you are a tourist and want to get a helmet, the maps on the bike share stations will show nearby locations where you can purchase one.

    NYC is not so bad for bike riding; what makes a city good for cycling is having a lot of places to go within a bikeable distance (about 5 miles), and having slow-moving traffic. A lot of people think that more suburban cities are more amenable to cycling, but the opposite is true: there’s often very little within cycling distance of one’s home, and the roads are over-engineered (too wide), which encourages drivers to speed and raises the risk of fatal crashes.

    A lot of people compare the bike boom here to cities in Europe (especially Amsterdam), but I don’t think it’s a particularly apt comparison. Tokyo is probably the best analogue to New York City: it’s a modern city with a decent rail transit system, it’s very dense (most buildings are about 3-6 stories), and pretty much everyone there has and rides a bike.

    The difference here is that biking is still kind of novel to most people, and I think having more people cycle (other than the lycra/spandex and delivery guy sets), including your average Joes and Janes who are less risk-averse and more likely to follow the rules and ride at a slower pace, will change the perception and culture of cycling in the city, so that it becomes more civilized.

  • Gentleman

    @ Bob Scott –

    I think your objection to the corporate-ness of the stations and bikes is fair. I, myself, would prefer a system that’s unbranded, or at least not one that’s covered with corporate logos. On the other hand, I understand the position that the City is in; at this point, it’s not really feasible (politically or fiscally) to spend $50-60 million on financing a public bike share system, something that virtually every other major city in the northern hemisphere has or is looking to build. My personal hope is that there’s some way to change this in the future.

    If we are going to mince words about which stations are in historic, residential Brooklyn Heights, then we should exclude the one on Middagh between Henry and Cadman Plaza as well – it’s outside the historic district, next to a building that was built in the 1960s, and sandwiched between a blank wall and a parking lot.

    It’s my understanding that there’s still room for debate over the final locations of these stations (the detailed maps on DOT’s website have “DRAFT” plastered all over them: http://a841-tfpweb.nyc.gov/bikeshare/2012/05/11/draft-citi-bike-station-map/), the DOT is still meeting with community boards to get their feedback (including Brooklyn Community Board 2 on Tuesday night), and the stations aren’t scheduled to be installed until July at the earliest, so there’s still some time for the BHA to make its opinions known.

  • Bob Scott

    The city’s decision to sneakily release these sites on a Friday preceding a holiday weekend demonstrates it has reason to fear community reaction. Because of the timing, most newspapers and news web sites (including the bicycle-crazy Brooklyn Paper site) didn’t even report the map’s release, so most people don’t know what’s going on. Only the Brooklyn Eagle mentioned the fact that the sites in BH might be considered intrusive (my word not the Eagle’s).

  • Elmer Fudd

    Who’s getting the money from this program? I hope it isn’t going to CitiBank or Bloomberg. They are already rich enough.

  • bornhere

    Gentleman: Thanks for the clarification of the helmet law.

    I would, however, urge you to frequent, for example, Union Square at 17 Street; it may not be “so bad” for bike riding, but it is not loads of fun for pedestrians.

    And I think the usurpation of on-street parking in the Heights for Bike Share is stunningly bike-centric and agenda-driven. I have to wonder if those who have approved these locations live on or near the affected blocks.

  • Gentleman

    It looked like most news outlets picked it up: the Times, the Post, Village Voice, Queens Chronicle, HuffPost, the Observer, WSJ, our local CBS affiliate (remember Marcia Kramer’s reporting on PPW), DNAinfo, and many of our local blogs like Brownstoner and the network of Patch sites. I think the mayor even mentioned it on his radio show. The Brooklyn Paper seems like an outlier; I’m just as surprised as you are they didn’t jump on it.

    Brooklyn Heights is full of educated, connected, and civic-minded people. I’m 100% sure that everyone who lives in BH will know where these stations are planned to be installed before July rolls around. And I think that if the DOT didn’t want these locations to be known, they wouldn’t be posted literally front and center on its website a full two months before bike share is scheduled to launch.

  • Quinn Raymond

    Bikes, per person, take up much less space than cars.

    Bikes don’t make noise.

    Bikes are much safer than cars for those around them.

    Bikes don’t pollute.

    The more people in Brooklyn Heights who use bicycles, the better your quality of life will be.

  • Bob Scott

    Gentleman is wrong again. The maps were NOT posted by DOT for two months. They were quietly posted on Friday or a holiday weekend. And, except for the Eagle, NONE of the city papers provided written details explaining how they would be placed (i.e., as advertising vehicles in front of peoples homes on quiet residential streets).

  • Quinn Raymond

    Bob, these bike stations will make far less noise and fumes in front of people’s houses than the cars the are replacing.

  • Slide

    If there is a bicycle station with 30 bikes that takes the space of three automobile parking spaces is it worth the tradeoff? I for one think it is. I guess each can make there own determination.

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/13189502@N02/ Eddyenergizer

    I own a car and park it on the street, I am also an avid cyclist, so I see both sides of the argument. In short, I think the bike share program is a great idea, even if we lose a few parking spaces. The reality is, there are several thousand parking spaces in BH and losing a dozen or so won’t make much of a significant difference in time it takes to find a spot.

    @ Bob Scott, Your claim, the program is “such a flagrant violation of the district’s historic status” is ludicrous. How is it a violation? Landmarks Preservation is only concerned with the exteriors of buildings not what is on the street. If the street lights, traffic signals, signs and cars are not victorian era, what is so offensive about having a few bikes parked instead of a car?

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