NYC Bike-Share Exhibit Seeks Feedback

NEW YORK—The planned Bike-Share for New York City is ambitious—10,000 bikes and 600 stations. Station locations and when the system will actually begin operating remain unclear.

Two Wheel Transit: NYC Bike Share, a new exhibit at the Center for Architecture, is designed to help New Yorkers understand the planned system and elicit feedback. Price structure is included in the display: $90 to $95 for an annual membership, $20–$25 for an unlimited weekly membership, and $8–$10 for an unlimited 24 hour membership, alongside comparisons of how long a certain route would take to travel—for instance, from Penn Station to Grand Central—between a taxi (five minutes, $5.70), public transit ($2.25, 18 minutes) and bike (6 minutes, $0.00—though ultimately depending on membership type and riding frequency.)

However, the project timeline lacks specific dates. The system will begin operating in the summer, and the site locations will be chosen during the spring of this year says Alison Cohen, president of Alta Bicycle Share, the operator chosen by the DOT. Alta manages other bike share systems, including the one in Washington, D.C. 

“I have no idea how they think this is going to really happen in the summer of 2012 if they haven’t already identified those spots and gotten it approved by the community boards” said Hell’s Kitchen resident, and owner of three bicycles, Charles Rose, “because working with community boards is really a long tedious project.”

Community planning workshops will bring the DOT, community boards, and residents together to help choose where stations should go. The first workshop is on Jan. 31 at 6 p.m. for Community Board 4, for Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea and Clinton

The highly mobile solar-powered and wireless stations can be installed in less than an hour, though finding space for them is an issue.

Designer Jeeyong An was concerned with stations taking pedestrian sidewalk space at the exhibits opening discussion on Wednesday evening. DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik Khan said that they are looking at subway grates, parks, and privately owned plazas in addition to large sidewalk areas and parking spaces.

Sadik Khan also answered a question about funding for the privately financed project, a key component to the initiative. “We’re in talks and negotiations,” she said, “and I would have to kill you if I said anymore about it.”

The exhibit will be open at 536 LaGuardia Place through Feb. 4.