[media-credit name=”Photo by Brad Hoylman ” align=”aligncenter” width=”600″]
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At a community planning workshop on Monday for the city’s upcoming Bike Share program, Community Board 2 members, local residents and Department of Transportation representatives broke into table-based charrette groups to consider possible locations for the new “rent-a-bike” stations. Bike Share is expected to start this summer. Shirley Secunda, C.B. 2’s Traffic and Transportation Committee chairperson, said of the workshop, “People liked the idea of Bike Share’s potential use for short trips to the grocery store, luncheon dates, business meetings, connecting to transit, going to the waterfront and to parks, to college, etc. — to places which may be too far to walk to but ideal to reach by bike. It also seemed they’d prefer putting the Bike Share stations in the street rather than on sidewalks, even if it means giving up some parking spaces for motor vehicles. Streets with not too much car traffic were emphasized. Otherwise, wide, uncrowded sidewalks were considered a possibility. The map included the whole C.B. 2 district [14th to Canal Sts., west of Fourth Ave./Bowery]. Near subway stops, like at Astor Place, were popular. At my table, inside Washington Square Park was a no-no, although outside the park — as long as it didn’t block the view to the arch and fountain — was O.K.”
