Bike share programs everywhere have been clicking into high gear! You see them in communities across California including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, San Diego, and more recently by our neighbors in Isla Vista and the City of Santa Barbara. Now, the City of Goleta is considering a bike share pilot that would offer bikes on-demand, providing residents and visitors with quick and easy access to some of Goleta’s most popular destinations. The first step is to hear your valuable input. If you’d like to be involved in the decision-making process, please take our survey in English here, or in Spanish here, by July 19, 2021.
City of Goleta Sustainability Coordinator Cindy Moore said, “Goleta is such a bike-friendly town and we are eager to find out what residents and businesses think about bringing a bike share program to Goleta, and if so, what the pilot should look like.”
What is Bike Share?
Bike share programs provide bicycles available for rent to the public. In a bike share program, bicycles are stored in multiple locations throughout a city, providing options for where a bike may be picked up and dropped off. Some bike share programs operate within a limited area and others operate on a regional scale. These programs can also offer different types of bicycles including the common human powered bicycle and pedal-assist electric bicycles.
In the past several years, bike share programs have had a resurgence throughout the United States due to innovation with smart bicycles and reduced costs. Smart bikes are equipped with locking systems, global positioning software (GPS) for tracking, and other technological infrastructure to manage the bikes within a bike share platform. The bikes are reserved and managed through a smart phone application. Cities typically contract with bike share vendors who provide bicycle parking infrastructure, locally maintain the bikes, and manage the system.
What are the Key Considerations?
Bike share is unique in that it can serve as both a convenient option to visit points of interest in a city and as an alternative and healthy method of transportation for residents and visitors. The many benefits of bike sharing include improved individual and community health, economic development through green jobs, and improved access to businesses, decreased traffic congestion, and environmental benefits such as reduced vehicle emissions. Additionally, safety, nuisance issues, availability, and equitable distribution must be carefully examined. Goleta hopes to gain your feedback on these key considerations from the community survey.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to fill out the survey. The results will help inform next steps in the process and will be shared with the community later this summer. For any questions, please email bikeshare@cityofgoleta.org. #RideGoleta
