Montgomery City Council Approves Ordinance for Bike Share Program

The Montgomery City Council Tuesday night approved an ordinance paving the way to bring bike share systems to the Capital of Dreams.

“This is another step in becoming a true destination city – one in which visitors, new businesses and new residents want to live, work and play,” Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange said. “With more than 156 miles of bicycle infrastructure, we are only beginning to embrace the real potential to impact our overall quality of life and sustainability through cycling. Our next step will involve examining potential locations for bike share docks and working with all stakeholders to create a network of stations throughout our city making it easy for everyone to grab a bike and ride.”

Bike shares have gained popularity in recent years in urban and suburban environments by providing a service in which bicycles are made available for shared use to individuals on a short term basis for a low price. Many systems allow people to borrow a bike from a dock and return it at another station in the same system.

City of Montgomery departments collaborated with the Montgomery Bicycle Club and various community stakeholders, while also meeting with potential bike share vendors, to craft an ordinance implementing common-sense regulations steeped in safety, best practices and the needs of all partners. Now that the ordinance has been adopted by the City of Montgomery, vendors have a process outlining how to set up their systems in Montgomery. City officials anticipate operations could begin in August.

Bike sharing is most successful when combined with proactive bicycle and pedestrian planning. As one of only two Alabama cities recognized by the League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Friendly America program, Montgomery’s planning and engineering departments have prioritized developing a cyclist friendly community. The path began with the Hall Street Bicycle Lanes project, which converted a four-lane road into a two-lane, quarter-mile route shared by bicyclists and motorists connecting historic Centennial Hill, Alabama State University and Oak Park. Next, the Maxwell Blvd Bike Path, Montgomery’s first single-use bicycle facility, connected Maxwell Air Force Base to Wright Brothers Park, historic Cottage Hill, the community’s urban farm and the city’s revitalized downtown. In 2013, a joint project between the city and county led to the creation of 148 miles of bicycle friendly roadways, including extensive facilities and bike lanes along Ray Thorington Road and Brown Springs Road from the Auburn University Montgomery campus to the Atlanta Highway. Nearby in one of Montgomery’s newest neighborhoods, Park Crossing, officials completed construction of bike lanes and a trail spanning more than two miles in length to connect schools to subdivisions.

Public-private partnerships have played a pivotal part in the River Region’s rise in bicycle infrastructure. Community-led contributions complement city planning department projects, like new bike corrals, aid stations and racks – the product of an idea by the Montgomery Bicycle Club.

Visit www.montgomeryal.gov for more information on the latest developments in the Capital of Dreams.