by
Queens Ledger
Brooklyn and Queens will soon have several locations serving as docking stations as part of New York City’s Bike Share Program, “Citi Bike.”
The city announced last Friday that Long Island City, Fort Greene, Downtown Brooklyn, and Greenpoint, as well as various other neighborhoods in both boroughs, will participate in the nation’s largest public bike share system.
In Long Island City, there will be 10 locations where riders can find a docking station. The borough’s inclusion in the bike share is a big win for the borough, said Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer.
“The expansion of New York City’s Bike Share program into Western Queens will give both tourists and our local residents the ability to get around parts of our great neighborhood in an environmentally friendly and convenient way,” Van Bramer said in a statement.
“The 10 proposed locations will not only facilitate commuters into and out of Long Island City, but it will also attract new visitors to all the fantastic cultural and culinary options the neighborhood has to offer,” he added.
Sponsored by Citi Bank, the Citi Bike program will launch in July 2012. The sponsorship agreement requires that Citi Bike branding be displayed on the system’s 10,000 bikes and 600 docking stations around the city. The system will be operated by Alta Bicycle Share, a Washington D.C.-based company.
According to the agreement, the city will split any profits with the company.
Each station will consist of a kiosk with a touch-screen, a map of the system, and docks into which durable bikes are securely locked and held until hired for rental.
The solar-powered docking stations will be located on sidewalks, plazas and other locations. Each station can accommodate between 15 and 60 bikes. The self-contained stations require no utility connections and can be installed in minutes.
Each bike will be equipped with a bell and both front and rear lights, and each bike will be inscribed with a safety message encouraging helmet use, cautioning riders to yield to pedestrians, and to obey all traffic lights and signs.
Citi Bike will be available for anyone 16 years or older. The price to rent a bike ranges from $9.95 for 24 hours to $25 for 7-day access or $95 for annual access. Members can ride for free up to a certain time limit, at which point they will be charged an additional fee.
The bike share locations were determined after multiple outreach sessions throughout the city, where residents weighed in on where they wanted to see stations installed.
“New Yorkers created this plan during the past six months, contributing time and expertise in workshops, on-line and in dozens of meetings to discuss and plan the city’s newest transportation system,” said Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.
Some of the Brooklyn locations include Dekalb Avenue between Clinton and Vanderbilt avenues and Lafayette Avenue between Ashland Place and St. Felix Street in Fort Greene, the east side of Humboldt Street near Norman Avenue in Greenpoint, the East side of Lorimer Street near Montrose Avenue (Sternberg Park) in Williamsburg, and the West side of Lawrence Street near Willoughby Street, as well as the south side of State Street near Smith Street in Downtown Brooklyn.
Some of the locations in Long Island City include the west side of 21st Street near Queens Plaza North, the south side of Queens Plaza North near Crescent Street, and the east side of 31st Street near Thomson Avenue.
The city is working on setting up locations for Park Slope, Cobble Hill and Crown Heights. And the program is scheduled to expand to additional neighborhoods in Queens during Phase 2 of the program.
On May 21, Van Bramer, Community Board 2 and DOT will host a community forum on Bike Share and the proposed docking stations.
To see more bike share docking station locations, scan the barcode to see a draft of the Citi Bike station map.
