|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Dublin won’t be ready for an e-bikeshare program until large city initiatives like Downtown Dublin and Dublin Centre are completed, the City Council decided after receiving a report from staff about the feasibility of such a program at its May 7 meeting.
According to the report, bikeshare can aid short-term transportation, but successful implementation requires regional coordination and dedicated staff time for maintenance. High-density locations and bicycle docking stations are also pluses.
Without the right set-up, programs can be plagued by challenges. Theft, vandalism, personal injuries, failure by operating companies and sidewalk obstruction by bike abandonment are just some of the potential difficulties, a few of which Fremont and San Ramon faced in their program attempts.
City staff suggested bikeshare could start in Dublin with a pilot, focused on recreation and transportation to and from BART. If directed to proceed, the next steps would be developing a legal framework, establishing permit regulations, determining funding sources and more.
Councilmember Jean Josey, item initiator in 2023, responded in support of pursuing the program. She suggested learning more about implementation from sister city Bray, Ireland and its e-bikeshare strategy.
Mayor Melissa Hernandez disagreed with conducting this research, given regulation and population differences.
“I think we should concentrate on the local areas and how we do things here in the United States,” she said.
Josey restated her stance and shifted the topic to clarify laws on bikes and e-bikes, rider age restrictions, licensing and company offerings.
Even with the clarification, Councilmember Michael McCorriston came out against extensive pursuit of a bikeshare initiative at this time.
“Right now, I’m not real encouraged with what I see from your report. But it doesn’t mean we can’t look at carve-outs or specific uses,” McCorriston said. “Or maybe this is something that will make sense later on.”
Discontent continued, as Hernandez recalled San Ramon’s bikeshare failure, where the city was required to collect abandoned bikes along riding boundaries on Alcosta Boulevard and Stagecoach Road.
However, Hernandez forwarded the conversation, suggesting that if such a program were pursued, BART could be a potential partner in a pilot. The transit system may be able to offer an overnight storage area for e-bikes.
Councilmember Kashef Qaadri continued fleshing out implementation, asking where in Dublin is considered high-density. In other words, where would the bikes be?
Staff suggested they be stored near BART stations, high-density housing near transit and in the developing downtown.
Hernandez jumped in to suggest that riding on sidewalks in a close-quarters location, like downtown, posed a safety risk. But she supported the idea of dock locations nearby BART.
Following up on the topic of safety, Vice Mayor Sherry Hu sided against the pursuit of an e-bike program. She added that, as presented in the report, only a small portion of people are interested in it.
Despite council concerns, Josey suggested progressing the program.
She suggested staff complete preparatory work like establishing a legal framework, discussing potential partnerships with nearby cities, BART and Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority and planning locations for e-bike docking stations in upcoming projects.
“I think a little bit of preparation now would allow us to be more nimble in looking for micromobility options down the line,” Josey told the Weekly in a follow-up email after the meeting. Micromobility refers to any small, low-speed, human or electric-powered device, according to the Federal Highway Administration.
Qaadri and other councilmembers hit the brakes on her suggestion.
“We’re quite a ways from the DC project, downtown project, some of the larger initiates. As we get closer to closing those projects out, I would be very keen on re-exploring this,” Qaadri said. “I just feel like we’re sending our staff down a wild goose-chase at this point, way ahead of any concrete timeline.”
McCorriston thinks bikesharing will be needed as long-term projects are completed, but discouraged spending much present-day time on this program. Instead, he suggested focusing on expansion and enhancement of bicycle lanes, safety and education and encouraging bicycle usage throughout the city, in a follow-up email.
Herandez agreed that implementation is premature, but would be welcome once city initiatives are completed.
A precise timeline for the program wasn’t determined at the meeting, yet Josey hopes to keep the bikeshare program in conversation as the DC and downtown are developed.
In other business, the council voted unanimously to maintain virtual public comments as an option at meetings.
This means that COVID-era accessibility will continue, even though other Bay Area communities have ended the option and Dublin is not required to offer a virtual platform to in-person meetings.
Councilmembers came to this decision after voicing a variety of benefits to allowing virtual comments: seniors with mobility issues can participate, those who want to hear a specific topic can quickly tune into the meeting and it supports free speech.
Hu noted that regardless of the Zoom option, the public can also comment via email.
The City Council also approved funding for the Human Services Grant Program for fiscal year 2024-2025, which goes to local nonprofit organizations that serve Dublin.
A total of $330,000 will be provided for 22 public service projects by organizations such as Spectrum Community Services, CityServe of the Tri-Valley and Hively.
Program funds come from the federal Community Development Block Grant, Dublin’s General Fund, the Affordable Housing Fund and the American Rescue Plan Act.
