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Send questions or requests for more info on the bike station project to

For more information and examples:

Chicago Bike Station
bikestation.org
Complete Streets

Download PDF of ClevelandBikes Bike Station proposal

Developing A Bike Station, Investing in New Transportation Infrastructure for Northeast Ohio
November 2005

The Proposal: ClevelandBikes seeks partners and support for a bicycle station, a new important element in the Northeast OhioÕs transportation infrastructure. The NEO Bike Station would be a significant, cost-effective investment in cycling transportation infrastructure, simultaneously acknowledging the growing role of cycling for commuting and transportation and contributing to future non-vehicular transportation growth. The proposal for funding would support research, community engagement/ education, preparation and implementation of a bike station in Northeast Ohio.

The NEO Bike Station: The NEO Bike Station would be a one-stop transportation center, providing new, expanded transportation options for the public. An independent project of ClevelandBikes, the project borrows from a nation-wide model (Bikestation, a 501C3 organization, bikestation.org) operating elsewhere around the country. Offering resources and support for cyclists, the project would encourage cycling and other transportation options, contributing to improved air quality and reduced traffic/parking congestion, enhancing the communityÕs quality of life. While each bike station provides unique services and amenities, most offer some combination of the following services:

  • Secure bicycle parking, with Òround the clockÓ access for members;
  • Convenient access to public transportation;
  • Independent shower/changing rooms for both men and women;
  • Daily service hours with knowledgeable staff offering bicycle repair or parts/supplies retail sale options;
  • Rental bikes for local and tourist needs;
  • Information assistance for planning riding trips; and
  • Access to Òenvironmentally cleanÓ vehicle-sharing.

Potential Funding Stream: A combination of private foundations and public agencies are potentially viable sources of support. ClevelandBikes believes the Transportation Links to Communities Initiative (TLCI) of the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency to be an important potential source of funds for planning, community education and implementation of the NEO Bike Station. TLCI provides federal funding assistance for communities planning improvements that make communities more livable, explore innovative design concepts through a community-based planning process, promoting sustainable economic development as well as alternatives to single occupant vehicles. ClevelandBikes would partner with Cleveland (or other public entity with transportation responsibilities), which would formally administer the grant. TLCI grants may reach $75,000 and include a 20% cash-matching requirement.

Bike Station History: Modeled after European and Japanese examples, Bikestation Long Beach was the first facility of its kind to open in the US (3/1996), followed by Palo Alto, Berkeley, Seattle and Embarcadero (San Francisco). Bikestation operates as a parent organization that serves as an information-clearinghouse and support system to the individual operators responsible for site operations. Local operators vary, but include non-profit, for-profit and advocacy organizations. Other independent facilities are in various stages of development in Los Angeles, Portland, Chicago, Washington, DC and others. Partners for various Bikestations include the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority, Flexcar, Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, City of Pittsburgh, Regional Transit District of the City and County of Denver, Puget Sound Regional Council, Cambridge, MA, South Coast Air Quality Management District, and the Cities of Santa Monica, Norwalk, Pasadena, North Hollywood and Santa Barbara.

Seattle Bikestation Example: Bikestation Seattle (311 3rd Avenue South in central Seattle) is a one-stop transportation center that offers a variety of mobility choices and amenities. Bikestation Seattle is open daily with 24/7 bike-parking access for members and attendants on site during regular business hours (weekdays, 8:00am-6:00 pm; Sat: 10:00-5:00; Sun: Noon-5:00). The Bikestation Annual Administrative Fee is $20 and is good for one year.

Regional Advantages: Bicycling provide a number of community benefits, addressing traffic congestion, poor air quality, costly energy dependence on uncertain countries and health risks due to inactivity. A NEO Bike Station will encourage more area residents to join the more than 60 million Americans who are already part of the solution: riding a bike and setting an example for energy independence and active, healthy living. Consider the following:

  • Riding Your Bike For Health: A sedentary lifestyle is a factor in 10% of total deaths and 25% of chronic disease related deaths. Becoming more physically active can reduce health care costs. If inactive American adults participated in the recommended levels of physical activity, annual national medical costs, by one estimate, could be reduced by more than $75 billion.
  • Reducing Transportation Costs Eases the Household Budget: For most Americans, transportation is an expense second only to housing (more than health care, education and food). Even before runaway gas prices, the average American spends 19% of their income on transportation, with households that heavily rely on cars for transportation spending 50% or more. Based on AAA reports of typical transportation costs 56.1 cents/mile and $5 daily parking, typical car commuter costs are more than $6,860/year.
  • Offering Public Services to the Non-Driving Public: 1/3 rd of Americans do not drive, representing seniors (21% of seniors), children and many low-income Americans. More than 50% of nondrivers indicate they stay at home on a given day due to reduced transportation options. Approximately 1/4 of Cleveland households operate without a motor vehicle.
  • Cycling Increases Are Linked to Improved Air Quality: Air quality in our urban areas is poor and linked to increases in asthma and other illnesses, particularly among children. If each resident of an American city of 100,000 replaced one car trip with one bike trip once a month, carbon dioxide emissions would drop by 3,764 tons.
  • Cycling Can Match TodayÕs Daily Routine: Sustainable transport represents AmericaÕs future. A majority of Americans indicate they want to bike more and drive less, with more bikeways between home and stores, more bike paths and improved road conditions. For individuals, approximately 50% of metrotrips are less than 3 miles and over one-quarter (28%) are less than 1 mile. Further, half of Americans work within five miles of home. These distances are easily traveled by bicycle, and in some cases may be covered faster on bike, yet more than 82% of trips of five miles or less are made by personal motor vehicle. Bicycling is clean and efficient, getting people where they need to go.

Investing in Cycling Infrastructure Increases Public Riding: Opinion polls identify that more than half of Americans want to bicycle more and drive less, yet transportation officials have not translated the public goals to public facilities. In 2000, the US Department of Transportation advised states receiving federal funds that "bicycling and walking facilities will be incorporated into all transportation projects unless exceptional circumstances exist," but DOT acknowledges that fewer than half the states comply. Creating the cycling infrastructure, encourages the cycling activity, generating the desired health, transportation and environmental benefits:

  • Nationally, bicycles account for 10% of all trips, 13% of all fatalities, but only 1% of federal funding. Bike lanes are available for only about 5% of bicycle trips.
  • Toronto analysis found a 23% increase in bicycle traffic after the installation of a bicycle lane.
  • Portland, Oregon, planners identified a 74% increase in bicycle commuting during the 1990s.

Commuter Cycling in NEO: Data demonstrate that cycling is an increasingly important regional transportation modality, either alone or as one of many transportation tools. RTA data identify over 8,000 bike trips were taken on RTA during spring and summer months (May-July), with more than 3,400 total bike trips in July representing a record.

ClevelandBikes: Formed in 2003, the 501C3 nonprofit organization ClevelandBikes is committed to advancing all forms of bicycling as economical and healthful recreation, sport and transportation and advances and defends the rights of Northeastern Ohio cyclists to use the roads and to fair trail access. ClevelandBikes, a broad, volunteer-driven coalition, including cycling clubs, retail stores, certified instructors, government and nonprofit staff, individual riders and interested members of the public. ClevelandBikesÕ membership is approximately 750. ClevelandBikes volunteers also publish Crankmail, the thousand-copy monthly cycling newsletter, which serves as the "The Voice of Cyclists in Northeast Ohio.Ó

  

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