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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 01 Bike ShareAGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Meeting Date: 3/14/2022 Meeting Type: Work Session Staff Contact/Dept.: Emma Newman/DPW Staff Phone No: 541.726.4585 Estimated Time: 30 Minutes SPRINGFIELD Council Goals: Promote and Enhance CITY COUNCIL our Hometown Feel while Focusing on Livability and Environmental Quality ITEM TITLE: BIKE SHARE ACTION Discuss whether or not to direct staff to pursue grant funding and partner with REQUESTED: Cascadia Mobility, City of Eugene, and other regional partners to further expand bike share in Springfield. ISSUE City staff and PeaceHealth Rides staff presented at City Council work session on STATEMENT: February 10, 2020. Council expressed interest in expanding bike share in Springfield. In March 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted many things, including the PeaceHealth Rides bike share system. Given new opportunities, bike share could potentially expand further in Springfield as soon as spring 2023. ATTACHMENTS: Attachment 1: Council Briefing Memo Attachment 2: Updated Bike Share Q&A DISCUSSION/ Given the nature of the bike share system being based on partnerships, Cascadia FINANCIAL Mobility staff who operate the PeaceHealth Rides bike share system and a City of IMPACT: Eugene transportation staff member will be in attendance to answer questions. Expanding bike share in Springfield has been on the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) work plan. The committee initially supported bringing the topic to City Council to provide more access to biking for more Springfield residents, which would improve accessibility within the City's transportation system and support healthier residents and visitors. Lack of access to bikes has become even more of a challenge during the pandemic due to increased demand for bikes and economic impacts and supply chain issues. This effort also aligns well with City of Springfield transportation policies as well as state transportation greenhouse gas reduction efforts. Participation would require the City and partners to secure about $100,000/year to bridge the operational funding gap. Grants may be available and would require a limited amount of staff time to prepare grant applications, coordinate with regional partners, and communicate leading up to the launch. It would take a significant portion of the Transportation Options Specialist position's time (housed at Lane Council of Governments and funded with regional transportation grant funds). See Council Briefing Memo (ATT I) for more details about how the situation has evolved since the previous work session in February 2020 and the current bike share expansion opportunity. The Updated Bike Share Q&A (ATT2) is an updated version of the questions and answers that were provided to Council in February 2020. It also includes answers to additional questions that were raised by the Council during the work session. MEMORANDUM City of Springfield Date: 3/14/2022 To: Nancy Newton COUNCIL From: Emma Newman, Senior Transportation Planner BRIEFING Tom Boyatt, Community Development Director Subject: BIKE SHARE MEMORANDUM ISSUE: City staff and PeaceHealth Rides staff presented at City Council work session on February 10, 2020. Council expressed interest in expanding bike share in Springfield. In March 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted many things, including the PeaceHealth Rides bike share system. Given new opportunities, bike share could potentially expand further in Springfield as soon as spring 2023. COUNCIL GOALS/ MANDATE: Promote and Enhance our Hometown Feel While Focusing on Livability and Environmental Quality BACKGROUND: Changes since Feb 2020 Bike share changed rapidly following Covid-19 starting in March 2020. Uber, the previous PeaceHealth Rides bike share operator, pulled out of Eugene. Uber was no longer able to privately operate the bike share model that was presented to Council during the February 2020 work session, especially in smaller and mid-sized cities. The City of Eugene owns the existing 300 bikes, but temporarily had to cover operations before a new operating plan could be established and implemented. Cascadia Mobility, a local nonprofit, was established and selected to operate PeaceHealth Rides. Cascadia Mobility's mission is to operate equitable shared transportation programs at scale in partnership with Oregon's small to mid-sized urban communities. Their staff consist of local community members who have many years of experience in the bike share industry. Cascadia Mobility has been operating the PeaceHealth Rides bike share system since April 2021. Cascadia Mobility is also looking to serve other communities throughout Oregon with its community based and publicly subsidized model. Throughout the last two years, bike share in our region has been stabilizing and is now at the point where it is ripe for expansion. The economic impacts of Covid-19 have drastically impacted bicycle industry supply chains. At the same time more people have been purchasing and wanting to ride bikes as a Covid-safe, healthy, outdoor activity. Customers are still having to wait half a year or more to be able to purchase personal bicycles. Given this, there is likely even more desire now for public access to a shared bicycle system. Springfield has seen its two main bicycle shops close their doors during the pandemic, making access to purchasing bicycles, parts, and repair service scarcer. Bike share will provide access to Attachment 1, Page 1 of 3 MEMORANDUM Page 2 bicycles that are maintained by professional mechanics and will complement the limited access to bike maintenance resources and supplies. Bike share could even partner with the new Pedaler bike bistro and Peak Sports bike shop in downtown to make their businesses and bike share even more successful. PeaceHealth Rides actively promotes local bike shops and could host learn to ride events at venues including bike shops and bike -oriented businesses. Cascadia Mobility is a nonprofit whose mission centers on encouraging active transportation and views itself as a partner to the broader active transportation efforts that extend beyond bike share. Bike Share Expansion Opportunity Cascadia Mobility and City of Eugene staff approached City of Springfield staff near the end of 2021 with an opportunity to support the City of Springfield's desire to further expand bike share. Multiple puzzle pieces are aligning, which could make it feasible to expand bike share in Springfield with approximately 100 human -powered bicycles as soon as spring 2023. The bikes will be operated at a regional level so that a user could pick up a bike anywhere within the regional service area and ride it across jurisdictional boundaries between Springfield and Eugene without any penalties or fees. Bike share operations staff will rebalance the system to ensure about 100 bikes are available at hubs in Springfield and about 300 are available in Eugene. OHA Grant - Mayor VanGordon provided a letter of support in January 2022 for a Cascadia Mobility grant request to the Oregon Health Authority for $300,000. If received, the grant will support the expansion of bike share in Springfield by adding 100 bikes to the existing system and serving a more regional Eugene -Springfield geographic area. It will also provide funding to partner with community-based organizations to provide free PeaceHealth Rides bike share memberships to low-income individuals, bolster Cascadia Mobility's broader community engagement efforts, and help potential riders to overcome barriers by providing Learn to Ride bike share classes. Grant announcements are anticipated in early April. Donated Bikes and Refurbishment Grant - Nike donated over 200 human powered bike share bikes to Cascadia Mobility that are a similar model to the PeaceHealth Rides bikes. The vision is for about 100 of the donated bikes to be used in Springfield and the other half to be used somewhere else in Oregon. Cascadia Mobility is currently pursuing grant funding through the Oregon Department of Transportation to refurbish the donated bikes to rebrand them and get them ready for fresh deployment. PeaceHealth Sponsorship — PeaceHealth, the title sponsor of the PeaceHealth Rides bike share system, has pledged to increase sponsorship to support the expanded system's operational costs if match funding is secured. Their sponsorship consists of $1,000/bike/year. Pursuing Additional Operational Grant Funding — Another roughly $1,000/bike/year needs to be covered by other sources. For 100 bikes, this would equate to approximately $100,000/year. City of Springfield, City of Eugene, and Cascadia Mobility staff recommend applying for the Statewide Transportation Improvement Funding (STIF) grant to bridge the remaining funding gap. Depending on the grant cycle duration, the initial grant application for Springfield's portion would likely be $300,000 to bridge the operational funding gap for the first three years of operations. The intent would be to cover the operational funding gap with grant funding on and ongoing basis. The amount may need to be adjusted over time if Springfield chooses to either expand the number of bikes or discontinue the bike share program. Bike share operations are an eligible use of STIF funding. STIF revenue projections show an increase of about $275,000 in 2022 and $700,000 in 2023 for our area. The next grant application cycle is later this year. STIF seems like a good fit and likely grant funding source. If that funding does not work out, other funding would be needed. Other funding programs, such as the newly Attachment 1, Page 2 of 3 MEMORANDUM Page 3 established federal Carbon Reduction Program (CARP) may be another viable option. Staffing - Staffing has evolved over the last couple of years. Due to Covid-19 economic impacts, Lane Transit District (LTD) laid off the transportation options staff who were housed at the Point2Point program at LTD. Regional staff evaluated the transportation options programming in the region and developed a plan to reorganize some of the structure and content to reestablish the program in a new way. There is now a Transportation Options Specialist position that is housed at the Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) that will primarily be working on transportation options for the Springfield community starting in April. This position has capacity to support the launch of bike share in a way that did not exist previously. Bike Parking & Bike Share Hub Pairing - One of the first projects that the Transportation Options Specialist position will start working on is a grant -funded bike parking upgrades project to purchase and install good quality bike parking throughout Springfield. This project and bike share expansion will pair nicely. Given the desire for cost-effective and flexible investments, staff recommend installing regular bike parking racks at bike share hubs instead of having bike share specific infrastructure that only bike share bikes can use for parking. This approach will both improve bike parking availability for people using their personal bicycles as well as provide bike share hub locations at lower cost. The bike share hub locations could possibly be a designated color and they would be accompanied by a sign that would explain to people how to access the bike share system. The smart phone app that is used to check out bicycles would geo- fence the hub locations for bike share users. See Updated Bike Share Q&A (ATT2) for details on penalties for parking outside of a hub location or the service area. Next Steps If Council is supportive, the next steps are as follows: 1. Assign bike share expansion to Transportation Options Specialist work program. 2. Work with partners to develop recommendations for criteria for siting bike share hub locations, determine the geographic extent of the service area, and determine other details such as bike rack maintenance at hub locations. Develop and implement communications plan leading up to launching the expanded system. 3. Pursue additional grant funding, including submitting a STIF grant application, with regional partners to bridge the operational funding gap. This equates to about $100,000/year for 100 bikes for Springfield. 4. Provide periodic updates to Council. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Based on February 2020 Council interest in expanding bike share further in Springfield, BPAC support, and the recent alignment of opportunities and resources, staff recommend pursuing grant funding to bridge the operational funding gap and partner with Cascadia Mobility, City of Eugene, and other regional partners to further expand bike share in Springfield with a launch goal of spring 2023. Attachment 1, Page 3 of 3 Bike Share Questions and Answers Updated March 2022 The following questions and answers respond to initial questions about bike share. Staff from the cities of Springfield and Eugene and PeaceHealth Rides staff will be at the work session to answer additional or more detailed questions. Table of Contents Q: What are the benefits of bike share?...................................................................................................2 Q: How would bike share work with the existing bicycle infrastructure network and are there any key gapsin the network to fill?....................................................................................................................... 2 Q: How many PeaceHealth Rides bikes are there currently?................................................................... 2 Q: How many PeaceHealth Rides bikes are available for expansion? Can bikes be added incrementally or is there only one opportunity expand?................................................................................................3 Q: Could the system be expanded to include electric assist bikes?.........................................................3 Q: Where are people currently riding PeaceHealth Rides bikes in Springfield?.......................................3 Q: What is an ideal density of bikes and hubs?........................................................................................4 Q: Where would bike share hubs be located?..........................................................................................4 Q: What did the Springfield Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) propose as an initial service area and potential hub locations?................................................................................................4 Q: How is rebalancing done? How often does the system get rebalanced?............................................5 Q: What would prevent bikes from being left all over the place?............................................................5 Q: How is theft reporting handled? How often has bike share bicycle theft occurred in Eugene? .........5 Q: What happens to the bikes if Cascadia Mobility goes away?..............................................................5 Q: What is the true cost of bike share? How does the PeaceHealth Rides budget work?.......................6 Q: What is the current membership fee structure? Would it stay the same with further expansion? ... 6 Q: What about financial transparency?....................................................................................................7 Attachment 2, Page 1 of 7 Q: What are the benefits of bike share? • Bike share could help fulfill the vision articulated in the Springfield Transportation System Plan Goal 1, which states: "Community development — Provide an efficient, sustainable, diverse, and environmentally sound transportation system that supports and enhances Springfield's economy and land use patterns." • Bike share increases accessibility for people to the transportation system in a way that can help people get to work, appointments, or other activities, enjoy our community's scenic beauty, and improve their health through moderate physical activity. A reduced fare option provides a very affordable form of transportation that increases equity and accessibility for people who cannot afford to own their own car, buy a transit pass or a personal bike, or pay for another form of transportation, such as a taxi, Uber, or Lyft. • Bike share supports economic development and provides visitors with easier access to Springfield businesses and the various regional multi -use paths along our scenic rivers and Mill Race. • Bike share would help improve City of Springfield's national Bike Friendly Community ranking. • People do not need to know how to maintain a bicycle to use bike share, since maintenance is performed by professional mechanics. • Risk of bike theft is not a concern to individuals using a bike share bicycle. • For people trying to purchase a bicycle in the current context, bike share could bridge the gap for people between ordering a bicycle and receiving it months later. They could enjoy riding while they wait for pandemic caused supply chain delays. Q: How would bike share work with the existing bicycle infrastructure network and are there any key gaps in the network to fill? • Bike share would increase access to biking in Springfield and enable more people to use the existing bike infrastructure and transportation system in which Springfield has invested. • As City Council heard during the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee interviews during the January 27, 2020 work session, there are still missing gaps in the bike network. Bike share may further highlight these gaps as more people start riding and find out that it is difficult or uncomfortable to navigate to certain parts of the city by bicycle. In some cities that have launched bike share during the last decade, the increase in bike ridership led to jurisdictions further investing in bicycle infrastructure projects to support safe, convenient, and connected bike routes throughout their communities. • The City of Springfield 2035 Transportation System Plan identifies a list of bicycle infrastructure projects that would dramatically improve the bike network and fill many of the gaps. City of Springfield seeks out grants and works on constructing the planned network as funding allows. • The funded West D St and Mill Street projects will help improve the bike network in the proposed service area. • Bike share systems collect trip data on where the bicycles are being ridden, which could help inform future bicycle infrastructure improvement prioritization. Q: How many PeaceHealth Rides bikes are there currently? • There are 300 bikes in the existing PeaceHealth Rides bike share system. Attachment 2, Page 2 of 7 Q: How many PeaceHealth Rides bikes are available for expansion? Can bikes be added incrementally or is there only one opportunity expand? • Up to about 200 additional human -powered bicycles are available for expansion. The proposal is to initially use 100 of the available bikes to provide service in Springfield. More bikes could potentially be added to the system later. • The number of bikes in a system typically depends on density and having a lot of users in a small geographic area. It is also important to have bikes at key destinations. Q: Could the system be expanded to include electric assist bikes? • Yes, in the future. There are at least two vendors that could produce an e -bike that would be compatible with the PeaceHealth Rides bikes and the donated Nike bikes. • The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is likely to secure about $4M in federal funds that would be allocated to small and mid-sized cities for capital equipment purchasing. Cascadia Mobility (whose startup funding was provided by ODOT) will work closely with ODOT and interested cities to optimize these funds, helping to coordinate planning and equipment selection. • Adding e -bikes to the system may be a future opportunity in 2024 or beyond. E -bikes could provide options for expanding or replacing the PeaceHealth Rides fleet bikes. • Springfield has existing municipal code language (Section 5.126) that prohibits motorized vehicles, including e -bikes, from being used in certain locations. These locations include trails in public parks that are not specifically designated for such use. If the fleet were to expand to include e -bikes, it would be logical to review the code at the same time. Q: Where are people currently riding PeaceHealth Rides bikes in Springfield? • Bikes are being ridden to and within Springfield. Some members ride from the main Eugene system area to the satellite service area at Riverbend Hospital. • Other than Riverbend, trips rarely end in Springfield due to the $25 out of service area lockup fee. Riders may use the "hold" feature to lock up mid -ride to avoid this fee. • Below is a screenshot "heat map" showing over 11,000 trips taken in May 2021. It provides a sense of the current bike share trip volume and routes in Springfield. Most of the current trips are south of OR 126 Expressway, west of 14th Street, and along the Middle Fork and Mill Race Paths. Attachment 2, Page 3 of 7 Q: What is an ideal density of bikes and hubs? • Density should not be more than %4 mile between hubs. Less is better. • Cascadia Mobility would work closely with Springfield to identify the service area and optimal locations. Specific hub locations should be on or near bikeways and low traffic streets. • Hubs should provide sufficient parking for at least 4 bikes. More is better. Cascadia Mobility recommends a hub for every 6-8 bikes, on average. For 100 bikes, this would be approximately 16 hubs total. Q: Where would bike share hubs be located? • Hubs could be on streets or on sidewalks depending on available space and access. It is important to ensure sufficient clearance to safely park and remove a bike. • Hubs should avoid private property unless the property owner is supportive of 24/7 public access. Some private property owners are excited to host a bike share hub. • If Council directs staff to continue pursuing bike share for Springfield, staff will work closely with Cascadia Mobility to identify the best hub and geo-fenced locations. Q: What did the Springfield Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) propose as an initial service area and potential hub locations? • The BPAC Planning Subcommittee had an initial conversation in 2019 and brainstormed the following draft list: o Service area: west of 14th o Hub locations: ■ City Hall ■ Public House ■ Plank Town ■ Springfield Station ■ The Shoppes at Gateway/apartments ■ Centennial Marketplace/shopping center ■ Swim Center/Willamalane Park ■ Willamalane Adult Activity Center ■ Meadow Park ■ Mill Race Path Booth Kelly Trailhead? ■ Boat Ramp on Northbank Path? ■ Island Park? ■ Bob Keefer Center? ■ Grocery Outlet? ■ Prime Time? ■ Paramount Center? During the discussion, committee members noted that some of their brainstormed hub locations would vary depending on whether the bikes are human pedal -powered versus if they have the electric -assist "boost" that can help people go further with less effort. During a 2022 staff discussion, the Mill Race Path's Jasper Road Trailhead was also suggested as a potential location idea. Attachment 2, Page 4 of 7 • If this proceeds, Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee members will be involved further. Q: How is rebalancing done? How often does the system get rebalanced? • The current system is rebalanced daily, throughout the day (7AM — 7PM). Rebalancing redistributes the bicycles that have accumulated in certain areas. • Some rebalancing is done with a van and some is done with an e -assist bike trailer, which is a bicycle that can carry other bicycles. Q: What would prevent bikes from being left all over the place? • Bike share bicycles cannot be moved without being unlocked. • When someone uses a bike, they must unlock it with a bike share account. People are charged for the time the bike is unlocked. Since Cascadia Mobility started operating the system, the "out of hub fee" has increased from $1 to $2. This convenience fee helps cover operating costs associated with collecting bikes and returning them to a hub, typically within 24 hours or less. • Additionally, all bikes have GPS locators embedded in them which enable operations staff to know where each bike is. • Cascadia Mobility has implemented an "improper locking" policy. Improper locking is defined as locking on publicly inaccessible private property, to a bus stop sign, in a way that impedes public right of way or ADA access, or "freelocked" (locked to nothing). Cascadia Mobility would be interested in expanding the definition of improper locking to mean "anything other than a bike rack." The first infraction is $5, second is $15, and third is $15 plus suspension. • The fee for locking up outside of the service area is $25. • These fines and fees, together with education through social media, newsletters, customer service, the bike share website, and the app lead to minimal issues related to improper locking. Q: How is theft reporting handled? How often has bike share bicycle theft occurred in Eugene? • No bike share bicycles have been stolen in Eugene so far (bike share started in April 2018). • PeaceHealth Rides worked with Eugene Police Department (EPD) to register the bicycles through the city's registry and installed stickers on all the bikes. The GPS system on every bicycle makes tracking down a bike easy. • It is possible that bike share could be helping to reduce bike theft in general as people choose to use a shared bike instead of using a personal bike that needs its own secure locking mechanism. Q: What happens to the bikes if Cascadia Mobility goes away? • Cascadia Mobility is committed to expanding services in Eugene and throughout the region. Eugene owns its 300 bikes and Cascadia Mobility was the recipient of the Nike bike donation. • If the City of Springfield desired, Cascadia Mobility would be happy to transfer bike ownership to Springfield at launch so that Springfield could guarantee continuity should Cascadia Mobility stop operating. Attachment 2, Page 5 of 7 Q: What is the true cost of bike share? How does the PeaceHealth Rides budget work? • Bike share in Eugene is now run by a 501 c3 nonprofit, Cascadia Mobility, which was awarded the City of Eugene's operating contract in April 2021, after JUMP/Uber cancelled the contract. • PeaceHealth Rides is a partnership between the City of Eugene, Lane Transit District, the University of Oregon (UO), PeaceHealth, and Cascadia Mobility. If PeaceHealth Rides expanded into Springfield, the City of Springfield will be invited to participate in the Partner Group, where programmatic decisions are made. • In Eugene, operating costs are covered by a mix of revenues from system usage, PeaceHealth Sponsorship, and City funds. There is an annual funding gap of about $200k. Program partners are seeking to identify a sustainable source of funding to close this gap. Possible sources include the UO, regional grant funds, and/or ODOT Statewide Transportation Improvement Fund. • At the proposed scale, bike share costs about $2,000 - $2,500/bike/year to operate in total. This includes both direct and indirect costs. Therefore, adding 100 bikes to the PeaceHealth Rides network would cost about $200,000 - $250,000/year. Cost could be covered through a mix of revenues from system usage, PeaceHealth Sponsorship, and public funds. • Cascadia Mobility has up to 200 bikes that could be refurbished and used to expand the PeaceHealth Rides System. If the City of Springfield can commit to funding operations, refurbishment costs could be covered by ODOT. • Cascadia Mobility submitted a grant proposal to the Oregon Health Authority, seeking $1,000/ bike/year in grant funding over an 18 -month period. If awarded, PeaceHealth committed to match the grant with sponsorship funding for at least another 15 months. As a component of the grant submission, Cascadia Mobility also sought funding to make bike share completely free for low- income individuals. Grant awards will be announced in early April. • The City of Eugene bought the existing pedal bicycles and other equipment with a grant. They own the equipment and contract with Cascadia Mobility to operate the service. • The City of Eugene also funds a subscription membership for City of Eugene employees at a group rate (using Risk & Safety funding) and it pays for staff time to work on the PeaceHealth Rides project (maybe 2-5 hours/week max). • A contract between City of Eugene and Cascadia Mobility specifies a level of service. Q: What is the current membership fee structure? Would it stay the same with further expansion? • There are several different membership types: o Per trip: $1/15 mins (10 cents/min after first 15 minutes, prorated by minute) o Monthly: $15/month (includes 60 minutes of ride time per day, additional time billed at 10 cents/min) o UO Student: free 15 min/day or $5/month o Reduced Fare Plan: $3/month, available to people with SNAP accounts, or affiliated with one of several local community-based organizations. If grant funds are received, this fare could be further reduced. • Users get $1 credit for each bike returned to a hub that they pick up from a non -hub location. Users who lock up a bike in the service area, but not at a hub, are charged $2. Attachment 2, Page 6 of 7 If the bike is locked up outside the service area, the user is charged $25. Rates have not increased since PeaceHealth Rides launched in 2018. Cascadia Mobility and the City of Eugene are considering raising some or all rates in summer 2022. However, if sustainable funding for operations could be secured, there is a possibility that rates would remain the same or even be lowered, if maximizing ridership is the goal. Q: What about financial transparency? Cascadia Mobility is a new nonprofit, with startup funding from ODOT, whose mission is to operate equitable shared transportation programs at scale in partnership with Oregon's small to mid-sized cities. Over time, Cascadia Mobility expects to provide a range of active transportation operations services throughout the state, sharing resources, costs, information, and technology to the benefit of any city interested in operating shared transportation programs. Cascadia Mobility is led by a team of bike share industry professionals. Program costs and revenues are fully transparent. • Cascadia Mobility commits to annual budgeting and purchase and loss statement transparency with the City of Eugene. This transparency is critical since the City of Eugene covers funding gaps. Any large deviations from the budget are identified and agreed to by the City. In Springfield, there could be a similar agreement and structure. • Cascadia Mobility being a locally based nonprofit with its mission aligned with public interests ensures a higher level of financial transparency than provided in the former, privately -run model. Attachment 2, Page 7 of 7