Newspaper Page Text
11
ON THE
AGENDA
A8
, 26
MEETINGS
The Atlanta City Council meets May 1
and May 15 at 1 p.m. at City Hall, 55 Trinity
Ave. For agendas and more information,
visit citycouncil.atlantaga.gov.
NPU-E, which serves Midtown, Ansley
Park, Home Park and Loring Heights,
meets the first Tuesday of each month at
6:30 p.m. at Peachtree Christian Church,
1580 Peachtree St.
The Decatur City
Commission meets in
open session on the first
and third Mondays of
each month at City Hall,
509 North McDonough Street, at 7:30 p.m.
NEWS
The City of Atlanta has reached a financial
milestone: a record-high $175 million in
reserve funding.
The Atlanta City Council has referred
legislation introduced by Councilman
Kwanza Hall to decriminalize
possession of small amounts of
marijuana back to the public safety
committee.
The Decatur City Commission approved
the $40 million purchase of the 77-acre
United Methodist Children's Home at
their April 17 meeting.
The City of Atlanta is partnering with
the Westside Future Fund to launch the
Anti-Displacement Tax Fund Program,
an initiative which will pay any property
tax increases for qualifying homeowners
in the English Avenue, Vine City, Ashview
Heights and Atlanta University Center
communities.
Hartsfield-
Jackson Atlanta
International
Airport has
retaine its title
as the world's
busiest airport
with more than
104 million
passengers last year. QD
More Bikes
400 bicycles being added to city’s Relay share program
Photos by Isadora Pennington
The expansion of the Relay Bike Share program was marked at a ceremony at
Piedmont Park on April 19. At left is the city’s Chief Bicycl e Officer Becky Katz, while
in the bottom photo Mayor Kasim Reed led a bike ride through the park.
By ClareS. Richie
More shared bikes on the road is a
good thing, especially given the gaping
hole in Interstate 85 and Atlanta’s
growing enthusiasm for bike riding.
The City of Atlanta’s Relay Bike Share
program, operated by private partner
CycleHop, just expanded from 100
bikes at 22 stations to 500 bikes
at 65 locations across the Eastside,
Westside, Downtown and Midtown
neighborhoods. With 100 bikes, the
program boasted more than 2,300 users
who logged more than 16,000 miles.
You’ll find new hubs near attractions
and Airbnbs geared to tourists in
Downtown/Midtown neighborhoods and
in Little Five Points, Virginia-FTighland
and West End neighborhoods to attract
residents.
“Try it out — see what it feels like —
connect with your community,” Becky
Katz, City of Atlanta’s Chief Bicycle
Officer (CBO) urged. Katz, our city’s
first CBO, oversees the Relay Bike
Share program and participates in the
planning, design and installation of bike
infrastructure.
Sharing a bike is easy. Simply
download the Social Bicycles app, choose
the Atlanta Relay Bike Share network
and establish your account. There are
a variety of plans and rental options
to appeal to both the one-time and
repeat user. An interactive map shows
you where bike hubs are and how many
bikes (and racks for returning bikes) are
available. You can also use the app to
track your routes and mileage.
Determining these new locations
was a process that involved public
input, professional best practices
and site visits that were guided by a
framework committed to connectivity
to transit, health and safety, equity and
transparency.
“I’m happy that we’re going to be
operating on the West End because we’ve
been doing a lot community outreach
on that side of town,” Relay Bike Share
Marketing and Community Outreach
Manager Timberley Jones said.
Jones is referring to the 10 Bike
Champions that City of Atlanta hired
in partnership with Atlanta Bicycle
Coalition, Red Bike & Green, WeCycle
and Urban Perform. These West
End residents promote the program
and biking in general by attending
community meetings and hosting group
rides.
“They show that people do bike
from all different ages and backgrounds
— college students to baby boomers
and single parents. We need to keep
spreading the word
because it’s technology
and renting bikes —
two different mindsets
to work on,” Jones
explained.
This expansion also
seeks to meet existing
demand by adding a
station at Krog Street
Market, “the most
popular place that
people locked outside
of hub,” Katz said.
With future local
funding on the horizon
through the Renew
Atlanta bond and
TSPLOST, you can expect to see even
more bike infrastructure and more Relay
Bike Share stations going forward. In fact,
TSPLOST will designate $3 million that
Katz says will add another 500 shared
bikes within the next two years. As East
Paces Ferry adds a new multi-use trail,
Katz is at the table to integrate new bike
share stations into the design.
And updated bike routes and bike
infrastructure may be coming to your
neighborhood as the city updates
Connect Atlanta, its 2008 comprehensive
transportation plan. You can learn more
at atlantastransportationplan.com.
“We do have this budding bike
infrastructure and it really does work,”
Katz shared. The 10th Street protected
bike lane has 700 to 900 riders daily and
some weekend days there are 2,000 riders.
No surprise that 10th Street & Myrtle is
the most used Relay Bike Share hub.
Visit relaybikeshare.com for more
information. 03
8 May 2017 | DU
AtlantalNtownPaper.com