The city has broken ground Downtown to begin installing new Bluebikes stations, an effort that will expand throughout the city over the next year.
New self-service racks on Washington Street near Temple Place and on High Street at the intersection with Federal were among the earliest set up in mid-September, selected by the community during the city’s initial outreach.
Planners expect to install around 25 of 50 potential sites before winter arrives. This stage of the plan will impact the Bay Village, Beacon Hill, Chinatown, Downtown, North End, South End, West End, and Wharf District.
The next stations up for construction in the coming weeks are at the intersections of Stuart with Church and Charles Streets, the intersection of Shawmut Avenue and Herald Street, the corner of Massachusetts and Huntington, Avenues and the corner of Staniford and Merrimac Streets.
Further installations are dependent on the city securing license agreements or other procedural permissions, so they’ll go up as planners work their way through the city’s bureaucracy.
While the business communities in some parts of the city like Charles Street have been resistant to new bike infrastructure, the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District is enthusiastic about the additions.
“We see constant use of Bluebikes through and to Downtown. It’s clear they’re a very significant way that people reach Downtown and commute through the area. Having more options for shared, one-way bike trips is certainly a piece of the transportation puzzle, and the e-assisted bikes in particular have made biking more accessible. We’re pleased riders have more options to reach Downtown than ever before,” said BID President Mike Nichols.
Some areas like Beacon Hill won’t be getting as many new stations due to low demand or limited spots that fit the city’s requirements. The South End and Seaport will both be included in the next phase of the Bluebikes expansion, which begins this month. That will stretch into 2025, and the Back Bay won’t be getting its new stations until the very last stage next year.
Despite
some early speed bumps, including public resistance to the city’s
chosen spots by the Beacon Hill Civic Association, Nichols remains
positive about the overall impact of the city’s push for better
coverage.
“Are there
still areas in and around the BID that are underserved? Perhaps. I think
it’s a constant process of analyzing visitor trends. We’ve met multiple
times with the city on this topic and we do expect further stations to
be added in and around the Downtown in months and years to come,” he
said.
Like past phases
this next will start with an outreach blitz of surveys, emails, flyers
and four open houses to figure out where residents would be best served
by new bike sharing stations.
Updates
on the Downtown installations as well as information on how to give
feedback for the next phase can be found online on the Bike Share
Expansion 2024-2025 webpage maintained by the Transportation Department.