Yesterday I met Evan Osborne fortuitously at a get-together in our neighborhood. I was walking our dog around the community lake. When I got to the picnic area Evan recognized me and we had a nice chat about the Capitol City Cycleshare he's working to get going.
His dog was with him, so ZuZu (our canine) and James got to meet each other and play a bit. James is prominently featured on the Capitol City Cycleshare web page, as you can see above.
Here's a description of what Capitol City Cycleshare is about. (Great logo, by the way. Their Facebook page says it was designed by In House Graphics.)
Why a Bikeshare?
On one of our travels to Minneapolis, Minnesota several years ago, bike-share programs were discovered. Our experience in MN led to travel goals of riding bike-shares around the world.
The major cities of Paris, London, Amsterdam, New York, Chicago, and Miami are some of the bike-sharing opportunities we have enjoyed.
From that first experience in MN, the founding members of Osborne Adventures made a wish that such a program would come to the city of Salem. That wish is becoming a reality. Salem’s bike-share program will be launching this summer! Planning is underway with the city and bike program, and we are anticipating an August launch! Thanks for the visit and stay tuned for updates!
If you would like to learn more about the Bikeshare, feel free to contact us at:
Likely this non-profit is going to get $3,000 from the City of Salem at tonight's City Council meeting. That's better than nothing, obviously, but it strikes me as a pretty meager contribution of Urban Renewal funds -- a view echoed by the Breakfast on Bikes blog.
Back in December, Council approved a $749,000 Opportunity Grant for the Park Front Building, a project that was already in progress, had tenants lined up, and did not necessarily need the funding.
On Monday, Council will consider a $3,000 grant, about 0.5% of the Park Front subsidy, for six bike share stations in downtown.
Which can't be right -- the six bike share stations part -- because $8,500 is what each of the planned ten stations will cost (each station will house five bikes). So the City of Salem staff report must be wrong.
Evan told me that Capitol City Cycleshare is trying to get ten station sponsors. I recall him saying that they currently have two, Salem Health and U.S. Bank. As shown above, it costs $8.500 to be a station sponsor. It sure seems like the City of Salem could come up with the extra $5,500 to sponsor a single five-bike station.
How about it, Mayor Bennett and city councilors?
I've donated a hundred bucks to Capitol City Cycleshare because I think this is just a cool idea. I'd also be happy to fork out $60 a year for an annual membership.
As I told Evan during our talk at the lake, I generally find myself downtown without one of my folding Bike Friday bikes, since I don't carry one with me wherever I go. It'd be great to simply carry a bike helmet in my car, then be able to hop on one of the Bikeshare bikes if I felt like cruising around the Minto Brown - Riverfront Park - Wallace Marine Park paths.
When Salem gets more dedicated multiuse paths, or protected bike paths (rather than just a painted white line on a busy street), Capitol City Cycleshare will become even more popular.
Here's a link to their Info Sheet. Take a look. Consider donating to the cause. Especially if you're a business. Note that sponsors get lots of credit and visibility.
Download Capitol City Cycleshare
Comments