BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

I commented directly on the map. My top suggestion is next to the corner of Howard Street and E. North Ave. Howard is a long, dead-end street with free parking. It would be great to fly down 279, exit at East, pull a quick right onto Howard, U turn at the first space, jog down to the end of the street, hop on a bike, and be in the center of downtown in 20 minutes. The $2 the bike would cost beats hell out of $15 you'd pay to warehouse a car downtown, assuming you could find a place to park it.

Easy: Station Square. It's one of the more popular tourist destinations in the city, with access to many things, including the incline and the T. It also serves as a commuter parking area for downtown workers, and it has the river trail right next to it, so it would serve equally recreational and commuting riders. A station here could become the most popular one in the system. The station in the Southside Works is the most popular one right now, and it has a similar environment around it. This is a no-brainer.

Penn ave in garfield / bloomfield at winbiddle or gross. Acess for shows at roboto, first fridays, spak, several other restaurants, and residential commuters. There are stations nearby, but not a short walk. It's already in the network, just need a station here.

I agree s station sq but would be nice to get a few in regent sq and sq hill if money was no object.

There are some great suggestions on the bike share map. In terms of expansion, the gist so far seems to be that stations are wanted in Station Square, Squirrel Hill, upper LV, and Highland Park, at least based on number of duplicate (triplicate? multi-clate?) suggestions in these areas. For filling in gaps in service, Downtown, North Side and Garfield get the nod. I don't really care for stations in locations that are very seasonal and/or secluded (e.g. Highland park tennis courts and pool). I mean, stations in these places firmly fall into "nice to have" territory, not "need to have". I'm also not a huge fan of stations that you have to drive to, like putting one at the end of the Jail Trail. Yes, it would help people commute downtown and other places and save them from having to park there, but it would really only serve those who own cars. At least for the immediate future, I'd much rather have stations in places where people can walk to them, or have a good transit connection (T, busway, incline)

?hrishent, you are looking at Healthy Ride as commuting tool only. IMHO it's only one side. What I see on trails and on "bike highways" is that there are a lot of girls in groups biking together. Safety in numbers and no one tries t show off. :) And they ride for much more than an hour. I think that such girls involvement in bicycling is wonderful. In addition, Healthy Ride is a business and they have to consider what brings them money. If Highland Park station would bring more money then other location then it should be moved to "must have" category.

@Mikhail, you misunderstand me. I definitely see HR as both a recreational and transportation tool; see my above comments on a potential station at Station Square. My point is that, at least for the immediate future, HR should concentrate expansion on locations that have better access for users and are not secluded. For example, having a station in Highland Park near the main entrance would be great. That area is easy to access and can be a great, popular station for recreational riders and can be considered a "must have". However, having a station in the lower, more isolated areas of the park (where the tennis courts and pool are), falls firmly into "nice to have" territory.

I thought that there was/is a HealthyRide station in the parking lot at Station Square? You guys mean relocate it to right directly in front, or something?

Nope. There's one in South Side Works, but not Station Square. (All of Station Square is private property, so they technically couldn't install one in the lots there during the initial rollout. If the funding's different this time around and the owner is amenable, they may be able to now.)

Here's a link to the suggestion map, for posterity's sake. http://pghbikeshare.org/map/