City launches website to suggest spots for bike-share hubs
BY TINA SFONDELES Transportation Reporter tsfondeles@suntimes.com October 17, 2012 12:32PM
7-30-10 Museum campus......First day of new bike rental program....Mark Verstegen and Cathy Trueba, of Madison, Wi, and their sons Paul,14 (left) and Luke,18 were among the first few to try out the rental bikes.....Rich Hein/Sun-Times
Updated: November 19, 2012 3:11PM
Want to be able to grab a rental bike at your CTA station? The city has launched a website to get the public’s suggestions on where to place 300 new bike-sharing stations.
The site (chicagobikes.org/bikeshare) allows users to pick a good spot on the Chicago map to suggest a station. Users are being asked to explain why it’s a good location, and others can then press “support” so the city can see the most popular suggestions.
The bike-sharing program is aimed at getting people interested in riding bikes for short-term trips by renting a bike at one location and dropping it off at another.
Bikers will pay $75 for an annual membership or $7 for a daily membership that gives them unlimited rides under 30 minutes.
The program will offer 3,000 bicycles for rent beginning in spring, spanning from 41st Street to Montrose, and from the lakefront to Damen. The City Council gave Alta the go-ahead to operate the bike-sharing system until 2027.
The bike sharing program was to begin this fall but was put off until spring.
The news came as Inspector General Joe Ferguson investigated a rival bidder’s claim that the bid process was rigged for Alta, an Oregon company that once hired the city’s transportation chief, Gabe Klein, as a consultant.
And problems with Alta’s software stalled the company’s bike rental program in New York City. The city, however, said the problems didn’t play a role in the delay and that more time was needed for the program’s infrastructure and planning.
The city’s Department of Transportation also announced five public meetings to introduce the city to the new bike-share program.
At the meetings in late October and early November, city representatives and Alta employees will talk about the new program and answer questions.
The first three public meetings are scheduled for Oct. 29 at: 11:30 a.m. at the Chicago Architecture Foundation, 3 p.m. at Union Station and 6:30 p.m. back at the Chicago Architecture Foundation.
