Village Beat
by Kelly Mahan Herrick Kelly has been editor at large for the Journal since 2007, reporting on news in Montecito and beyond. She is also a licensed realtor with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, and is a member of Montecito and Santa Barbara’s top real estate team, Calcagno & Hamilton.
More Electric Bike Stations Slated for Coast Village Road
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n March, we reported on a plan to install electric bikes and docking stations on Coast Village Road by BCycle Santa Barbara, a private bike share company. Now, the company is seeking three additional docking stations in the area. “In order for us to be successful on Coast Village Road, we realized we needed more than two stations,” said BCycle General Manager Jesse Rosenberg, who is currently working with the Coast Village Association on garnering support for the project. BCycle, which is a subsidiary of Trek Bikes, has been working with the city of Santa Barbara for the last year and a half on bringing an electric bicycle share program to Santa Barbara; the first phase of docking stations, which included 192 stations and 96 bikes, were installed on State Street and surrounding streets on the east and west sides of the city, as well as near Cottage Hospital and on upper State Street earlier this year. “We’ve just achieved our first month of profitability, and that is because of all the stations we’ve installed, and hope to continue to install this year,” Rosenberg said. She told the CVA earlier this year that adding e-bike ridership to commercial areas brings more people to local businesses where docks are located, and that there has
Electric bicycles and docking stations are coming to Coast Village Road, as part of a pilot program approved by the city of Santa Barbara
been quite a lot of demand for the bikes in Montecito. The company’s goal is to provide accessibility for all, offer a viable transit option to vehicles which helps to alleviate parking and traffic issues, and connect different areas of the city. The Santa Barbara City Council and City Planning Commission gave the project a blanket approval for a pilot program including up to 500 docks and 250 bikes, with the understanding that the company would work with local business owners and business groups regarding placement of the docking stations. Appeals were filed to the City Council and the California Coastal Commission by city watchdog Anna Marie Gott in the spring, who
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5 – 12 August 2021