Sure, the first 300 or so are going to be stolen and sold for scrap. That's what happens to most investments before you begin to see a return. But for a city as active and densely built as Richmond (specifically downtown Richmond), it's almost criminal that there aren't bike lanes incorporated into every major street; every bus doesn't have a bike carrier; there aren't bike racks outside of major retail and cultural sites; and there isn't a broad-based bike sharing program in place.
And to think we mocked Frank Jewell in 1992 when he bought a fleet of two-wheeled cruisers for the short-lived Valentine Riverside initiative. What tourist in their right mind is going to ride a bike around Richmond in August, we scoffed.
Fast forward 16 years. Bike sharing's what all the cool cities are doing -- and if Portland jumped off a bride, you're damned straight we should, too!
WorldChanging has been covering the bike sharing phenom to a ridiculous extreme, but their latest summary on the raging success of such programs in Europe frames the benefits of bike sharing in simple terms. Here, they quote the NYTimes:
For mayors looking to ease congestion and prove their environmental bona fides, bike-sharing has provided a simple solution: for the price of a bus, they invest in a fleet of bicycles, avoiding years of construction and approvals required for a subway. For riders, joining means cut-rate transportation and a chance to contribute to the planet’s well-being.
The new systems are successful in part because they blanket cities with huge numbers of available bikes, but the real linchpin is technology. Aided by electronic cards and computerized bike stands, riders can pick up and drop off bicycles in seconds at hundreds of locations, their payments deducted from bank accounts.
Note to Mayor-elect Dwight Jones: Give me a call. We've got change to make.
