Apparently no other U.S. bike share program offers access to children who cannot fit on adult-sized bikes, so there are no nearby models to learn from on this front in terms of best practices. Why is this the case? Is it because families with children won't use the bikes if they are available? Or, is it because these other cities lack the vision to support families? Or are there other barriers?
One issue is helmets, although presumably parents could carry kid helmets with them. Many adults using Austin's bike share program will also likely be bringing along their own helmets--especially in a city like Austin with such high incidents of bicyclist deaths. In DC, 30% of local riders using the Capital Bikeshare program wear their own helmets.
Or, there could be a dispenser for helmets in addition to bikes, although dispensers are not widely offered at this point in bike share programs and have their issues. Other cities around the world have compulsory helmet laws for all bicyclists and have still figured out ways to address the helmet issue. Portland is looking to offer helmet vending machines, and Vancouver is in process of installing them.
In addition to serving Austin's families, developing a bike share program that is accessible to children is also important for tourists traveling here with kids. During my family's travels, we have found that cities with bike share programs that don't serve children make it harder for families to bike b/c they drive the private rental shops in the city core out of business or farther out of town.
Austin's City Council has adopted a vision that our city will become the most family-friendly city in the country; a bike share program that leaves out up to 25% of the population is not representative of this vision. Hopefully the City can figure out a way moving forward to address this issue.
No comments:
Post a Comment