Bike Share and E-scooter Feasibility Study Last updated or reviewed on March 14, 2023 Happening Now The City of Asheville’s bike share and e-scooter feasibility initiative has widened in scope to include consideration of electric scooters (also called e-scooters). With federal grant assistance through the French Broad River Metropolitan Planning Organization, the City has commissioned Alta Planning + Design to evaluate the city’s readiness for a bike share, and now shared e-scooters, and to recommend next steps in getting or getting ready for bike and/or scooter share. Bike share is a way for someone to use a bike for a short time at a reasonable rate. Some systems are station-based, like those in Washington, DC or Chattanooga, TN, where bikes are “docked” at certain locations throughout the City. Other cities use free-standing bikes like Lime Bike that riders typically unlock with a mobile app and can freely park in a safe location at their final destination. Consultants are using the information gathered from meetings with the public, stakeholders, and steering committee members, responses to the online survey, and research of city plans and bike share best practices to make their report and recommendations on the potential for bike share in Asheville. Community engagement through public meetings and online survey were conducted in 2018. More community engagement on this topic was scheduled for the first quarter of 2019. An initial draft of the feasibility study was created, but presentation to City Council of the report results was put on pause due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Staff is reviewing and updating the previous report draft and expects to re-engage community members and City Council in coming months. Background The goal of the study is to determine the viability of a bike share and/or e-scooter program and, if viable, to recommend what actions, organization, infrastructure, and equipment would be necessary to support a successful and equitable program in Asheville. The project will include data inventory, collection and analysis; suitability and demand analysis; public engagement via several channels; bike share business model and implementation recommendations; recommendations regarding policy, funding and infrastructure barriers; and a draft and final feasibility study report. The process will be guided by a steering committee. In addition to the steering committee, there will be public involvement in the form of a handlebar tour, stakeholder interviews, public meetings, presentations to committees/commissions, and public online input opportunities. This planning effort appears to be proceeding in a parallel path to the Greenway Connectors project, and so staff and consultants are exploring opportunities to combine public involvement efforts. The outcome of this investigation is not yet known. This action aligns with the 2036 Council Vision for Transportation and Accessibility by making it easy to get around Asheville, and easy to live here without a car. Goals Obtain a professional evaluation of Asheville’s readiness for a bike share program. If ready, recommend what actions, policies, organization, infrastructure, equipment, and equipment placement would be necessary to support a successful and equitable bike share system in Asheville. If not ready, get recommendations on what facilities and policies would need to be in place to make Asheville ready for bike share. Expected Outcome At the end of the project, a report will be provided that shows the next steps Asheville should take if it wants to move toward bike share, including what kind of bike share and/or e-scooter system would be most likely to succeed. Supporting Documents Open City Hall Survey Results Technical Memorandum #1 – Existing Conditions Technical Memorandum #2 – Bike Share System Planning and Analysis Asheville Bike Share – Appendix 1 – Demand Analysis Factors Contact Information Hayley Burton, Urban Planner II Updated 03/02/2020