Bike Sharing in Urban Jacksonville?

[Metro Jacksonville]

Bike Sharing in Urban Jacksonville?



To combat traffic congestion for an affordable cost, Miami Beach is betting big on an overlooked form of transit: bike sharing.  Could such a program work in walkable areas of Jacksonville?

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2011-jan-bike-sharing-in-urban-jacksonville

[dougskiles]

This would be near utopia for me - and maybe a few others?  People really seem to love their cars around here.

Hopefully that will change when we give people viable alternatives (bike lanes, transit systems) that begin where people live and end where they work and play.

Now as to the question of where it would work best?  As much as I love downtown and our urban neighborhoods, I think the bike sharing would work much better at our beach communities.

[dougskiles]

One more place comes to mind - the St Johns Town Center.  Very spread out & walkable.

Speaking of the Town Center - I am interested in knowing what the average distance walked from car to store is - if anyone has that statistic, please post or email to me.  Thanks.

[uptowngirl]

Downtown and the Urban core already have a bike sharing program of sorts (OK maybe not that funny!), But this is an awesome idea and I would agree SJTC, Beaches, are both great places for this.

[dougskiles]

You are correct - and the repository seems to be Hogan's Creek.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

One more place comes to mind - the St Johns Town Center.  Very spread out & walkable.

Speaking of the Town Center - I am interested in knowing what the average distance walked from car to store is - if anyone has that statistic, please post or email to me.  Thanks.

Not feasible.  You have to drive to get there, so you're prob. not going to ditch your car for a rent-a-bike.  How is the typical soccer mom with 2 kids in tow going to do her shopping with everyone on a bike.

There isn't any average distance.  Park in front of DSW or Target or drive around until you find a spot curbside.  This 'walkable' town center is very much designed for cars, albeit poorly.

[Captain Zissou]

Do the bikes have to be so ugly??

I agree that the beach is better laid out for something like this, but everyone at the beach already has a bike.  It's part of their wardrobe.  I'd love to see this instituted downtown and in the core.  Avondale is best laid out for it, San Marco's ok, but going between the two could be difficult.  I'm not sure how much of an issue crossing the bridge is.

[fieldafm]

While Jacksonville isn't as dense or congested as Miami Beach, could a smaller sized bike share program be viable in certain areas of Jacksonville?

Several bike shops at the beach now have bike rentals.  It could definately work, but like you said it would have to be limited to dense areas... I can only really see the beaches and Riverside/Avondale being viable.  That being said, Riverside/Avondale is prime right now for a more bike friendly transformation.  Dedicated bike lanes is something the newest City Council member(whoever that may be come March) for this district needs to focus on.

You are correct - and the repository seems to be Hogan's Creek.

At the SCAD/Shipyards project, one group(whom I liked the best) had integrated a bike rental station along the Hogans Creek Greenway their shipyards master plan called for.  It was one of the five reasons I liked their ideas so much.

[urbaknight]

I've ridden across the main st bridge on my bike many times. It's a great workout. The Acosta bridge is much more difficult to bike on.

There needs to be more bikeracks DT, like the one in front of the arts museum next to the library. That would at least show people that they have a place to lock up their bikes.

[cephus]

I'm all for it:  Riverside, San marco, Beaches.  heck, I'd do it at Topwn Center because I HATE the parking mess and sprawl.  If only it could have been developed like the Grove in LA, which has a streetcar for crying out loud.  www.thegrovela.com 

[peestandingup]

The problem as I see it is density & transportation tying our neighborhoods together. The areas/cities that this works in are HIGHLY condensed where people/bikers are able to move around easily from one neighborhood to another. So you could say, rent a bike in Avondale to take over to San Marco or up to Springfield, then be able to drop off the bike there & take public transportation back home. Jax doesn't have that type of setup at all. Even the "core" here is spread out. Meaning you simply cannot easily get to each of our urban areas without a car. You could probably string something together, but it would be a PITA & defeat the purpose.

So the sad reality is, until we get better connectivity & better public trans, this isn't going to be an option for us. People will just opt to stay in their cars unless you're able to take them out of the equation completely.

[fieldafm]

Honestly, I bike a lot in b/w the core and the urban neighborhoods.  Even with the no man's land seperating downtown with the neighboring core hoods, I still bike less miles than I would if I went from the Jax Beach Town Center to the Neptune/Atlantic Beach Town Centers.  The difference is the infill/density in b/w the two beach hubs, not the distance.

[north miami]

Saw the very same in Paris last month (including the funky looking bikes...) The emphasis in Paris is on use by tourist.

Anything bike-able a plus.

As rowdy as our weather here may exhibit at times fact is we are a masterful ideal location for cycling.

[Noone]

This is a single for Bay Street Pier Park. It can happen. Another lob pitch for the District 4 city councilman. During the St. Johns River Summit in Sept. One of the speakers on Locally Resourceful Tourism for a sustainable River economy was Herb Hiller. An avid cyclist. I spoke to Herb about this.

Herb came to Jacksonville and just think of the easy potential to connect neighborhoods. A pocket pier at Holmesdale ave. and a bicycle rack. Bike to Mudville Grille and the St. Nicholas business district. Reverse it. Take a boat over to Bay St. Pier Park and then grab a bike on Bay Street Pier Park. You have just connected both sides of the St. Johns River. Is this organic growth?

[blandman]

Saw the very same in Paris last month (including the funky looking bikes...) The emphasis in Paris is on use by tourist.

I don't think this system was designed for tourists.  Tourists (like myself!) can enjoy a ride, but it works best for residents who have yearly memberships, which makes picking up and dropping off a bike extremely fast (just punch in a code...no credit card required).