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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016
Vol. CXXV, No. 24
OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE CITY OF TACOMA Devoted to the Courts, Real Estate, Finance, Industrial Activities, and Publication of Legal Notices
Published Published Since Since 1890 1890
Wheels For Hire
Is bikeshare part of Tacoma's transportation future? Article and Photos By Todd Matthews, Editor Imagine cycling along Five Mile Drive at Point Defiance Park or getting off a bus at Tacoma Dome Station and cycling into the city center — all without owning a bicycle. These are some of the ideas being explored as part of a study under way to determine whether to create a bikeshare program in Tacoma. Bikeshare allows people to check out bicycles for short trips around the city. Locally, the City of Seattle partnered with Pronto Cycle Share to roll out a bikeshare system in October of 2014 that includes 500 bikes and 50 stations throughout the city. It hasn't been an easy ride. Last week, The Seattle Times reported Seattle's bikeshare program was 'teetering' on insolvency due to low ridership, and the City of Seattle would need to spend $1.4 million to save the system. Still, programs have been created in at least two-dozen U.S. cities, including Washington, D.C.; Austin, Tex.; Boston, Mass.; Denver, Colo.; and New York City.
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Two years ago, the City of Tacoma hired the consulting firm Alta Planning + Design to complete a very preliminary bikeshare feasibility study. City of Tacoma Active Transportation Coordinator and Senior Planner Diane Wiatr is currently working with Toole Design Group on a more comprehensive study that will include a great deal of public outreach over the next several months: an online survey and map of potential bikeshare stations will be launched by the end of this month; a community open house will be held on Thurs., Feb. 25, at the Tacoma Campus of Evergreen State College; City staff and consultants will be at the South Sound Sustainability Expo on Sat., March 5, to show off a bikeshare bicycle and gather input from locals; and stakeholder meetings will be held through March. "[Toole Design Group] has been tasked with giving us pilot proposals," explained Wiatr. "Basically, a way to start 'small-ish' somewhere and test the success of it in sort of a condensed way before investing in a bigger way. The idea of having a pilot is an exciting one because it would allow for a smaller investment initially to test it out. "It's a very interesting time to be involved in [bikeshare] because it's been around for long enough so that there's a history," she added. "But what it looks like in the future, we're not exactly sure what it might be — the bikes, the system, the technology, every element of it."
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"It's a very interesting time to be involved in [bikeshare] because it's been around for long enough so that there's a history," explained City of Tacoma Active Transportation Coordinator and Senior Planner Diane Wiatr. "But what it looks like in the future, we're not exactly sure what it might be — the bikes, the system, the technology, every element of it." The Tacoma Daily Index met Wiatr this week at a downtown Tacoma coffee shop to discuss bikeshare in Tacoma. TACOMA DAILY INDEX: Tacoma has commissioned two bikeshare studies. What have these studies accomplished, and what has been learned so far from each of these studies? DIANE WIATR: For the first study, we hired Alta Planning and Design in 2014 to do a very high-level feasibility study. Would it even make any sense to go out, work with the community, determine where bikeshare would work and where it wouldn't work, and [determine] the steps that would be necessary to take to provide a successful bikeshare system? It was really high-level, just a memo, CONTINUED and it said, "Yes, there are ON PAGE 2 these opportunities." And,