LimeBike Pilot: Last Chance to Comment

Mercer Island ran a 3-month bikeshare pilot program with LimeBike this summer, testing out a fleet of approx. 25 E-Bikes on MI.

While the bikes can still be seen on the Island, the official pilot period has ended.  

In 90 days, over 1,200 riders took approximately 4,100 rides totaling almost 4,000 miles!

The City is collecting user and community feedback to help Council decide on next steps.

If you haven’t yet taken our quick online survey, please do so today, as it will be closing soon!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MI-BikesharePilot

Cities Struggle with Adding E-Scooters to Their Transportation Mix

Bike share companies have found that e-scooters are both more profitable and expand the size of urban markets.  Several bike share companies hope to introduce e-scooters to Seattle and Puget Sound cities.

Introducing scooters has resulted in a backlash or at least controversy, because the current infrastructure and regulations are not yet designed to accommodate them.   The hyperlinks below connect to videos and articles describing situations on the West Coast, New York, Paris and London.

-Seattle 
-San Francisco  (Bike share company perspective)
-New York
-USA   (Overview with quotes from Elon Musk)
-Paris
-London

Use the Dutch Reach to Save Cyclists' Lives

Urban cyclists face the daily risk of 'doorings' when a driver leaves opens his car door as a cyclist passes by.  This can be drastically reduced if drivers use the "Dutch Reach" to open their car doors.  It means simply using one's right hand to open the door which forces the driver's body to turn and see oncoming cyclists.  

A British Columbia study indicates that doorings are the car-to-cyclist crash type causing the most injuries to cyclists.  

Learn more at www.dutchreach.org.

Safety Concerns Drive Seattle E-scooter Policy

Seattle has told the E-bike companies that they will have to wait for permission to operate the E-bike trial projects are completed.  Like most cities, the current infrastructure was not designed for alternative modes of transportation. 

"A little over a year ago, Seattle led the nation, becoming the first major city to open its streets to shareable bikes that didn’t need docking stations and could be left almost anywhere.

A year later, Seattle has taken the opposite tack with a similar technology that’s proven more popular than the bikes."

Aubrey Davis Park Master Plan Starts Soon

Aubrey Davis Park

Aubrey Davis Park is a 90+ acre, 2.8 mile long recreation and transportation facility straddling Interstate 90 on Mercer Island.  The land is owned by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and the City of Mercer Island (City).  A key facility of the park is the Mountains to Sound Trail which links Bellevue and Seattle.  The park facilities are approximately 25 years old.  Capital reinvestment needs, regional growth, demographic trends, the construction of East Link light rail and King County Wastewater’s North Mercer Sewer Upgrade have contributed to the need for planning services for this park.  WSDOT and the City are jointly developing this master plan, with the City acting as lead agency.  

You can help shape the master plan by participating in surveys and meetings. To be added to the plan’s email list, send an email to paul.west@mercergov.org.

Volunteers needed Sept. 25-27 to count people who walk and ride bikes

Each year, the number of people who choose to walk, ride bicycles or take other active travel means as their mode of transportation is increasing in Washington. How do we know? Volunteers annually count the number of people who walk or ride bicycles at selected locations during a three-day survey. For those who would like to help, volunteer registration is now open for this year’s survey, which starts Tuesday, Sept. 25.  

This data informs the transportation decision making at all levels.  Volunteers are vital to the success of this project:  about 400 people are needed for the count.  For the 2017 count, volunteers tallied more than 63,500 people biking and walking in communities across Washington. In 2017, the number of people who walked, biked or used other active modes increased 4 percent over the 2016 count.

NIM's Information Booth at MI Farmers' Market Updates Public on City's Plans

Neighbors in Motion held a information booth at last weeks Mercer Island Farmers' Market to advise residents about signage improvements in the city's North-South pedestrian/bicycle route.   A final section of the route or "Missing Link" in front of Island Park School is scheduled for design via public process next year in the city's Transportation Improvement Plan.   

NIM will have another booth at the September 30 market.  NIM is grateful for Mercer Island Community Fund's sponsoring this effort.