Title
Recommendation to Authorize the City Manager to Execute an Agreement with ELock Technologies LLC for Electronic, Shared-Use Public Bicycle Locker Maintenance and Services for Five Years for a Total Amount Not-to-Exceed $90,000.
In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), this action is categorically exempt from further environmental review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 (Existing Facilities), and, on a separate and independent basis, pursuant to the “common sense exemption” under CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3). (Planning, Building and Transportation 24562743)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jennifer Ott, City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Safe and secure bicycle parking is essential for encouraging and promoting bicycle travel. The City of Alameda (City) owns and maintains 112 bicycle parking spaces in electronic, shared-use bicycle lockers around the City. All of these lockers were manufactured by eLock Technologies and require regular maintenance to remain operable and accessible via a BikeLink card or app, or with a Clipper card. The City’s current Agreement with eLock Technologies will expire at the end of 2024. Staff recommends City Council authorize a new Agreement with eLock Technologies for five years, totaling $90,000 (Exhibit 1).
BACKGROUND
Safe and secure bicycle parking is essential for encouraging and promoting bicycle travel, and the City often receives public comment requesting secure bicycle storage options. Bicycle lockers provide a secure parking option for people to park their bicycles and gear such as helmets and lights, twenty-four hours a day. They are particularly useful for longer-term parking, such as for commuters; in higher theft areas; and for parking more expensive bicycles.
The City owns and maintains 112 public bicycle parking spaces in electronic, shared-use bicycle lockers around the City. These lockers were either purchased by, or transferred to, the City by developers or the Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA), between 2009 and 2022. The locations are summarized in the following table.
All of Alameda’s lockers were manufactured by eLock Technologies, which built the majority of the shared-used lockers available around the Bay Area including at BART stations and ferry terminals. The lockers are accessible to users for a small fee (3 to 5 cents per hour) that can be paid via a BikeLink card or app, or with a Clipper card. By installing and maintaining the eLock lockers, the City maintained lockers are part of this Bay Area (and national) system that allows people to access safe and secure bike parking with one card or app, across many locations and destinations.
In Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-24, 373 people used the City-owned lockers to park a bicycle, parking 7,184 times for a total of 58,000 hours. Locker usage has varied year to year, with a drop in usage during the first few years of the COVID pandemic, when commute patterns changed dramatically. However, usage increased 60% percent from FY 2023 to FY 2024. No locker locations are utilized at full capacity at this time.
Some lockers are used much more often than others. Staff is monitoring the usage and planning to move lockers that are rarely used to locations where they are likely to get more use. One example is the 16 parking spaces in the Civic Center Parking Garage. These lockers have had low usage, likely in part due to their undesirable location at the back of garage. With the planned upgrades to the garage, half of the lockers will be moved closer to the garage entrance. The other half will be re-located to the Central Ave Parking Lot (Lot “C”) across from the theater, and another to-be-determined location.
City staff is monitoring possible grant funding sources to assist with purchasing additional bicycle lockers, including larger lockers that can hold cargo and larger electric bicycles, which many in the community have been requesting. While this contract with eLock will not be used to purchase new lockers, any new eLock lockers that are purchased would be maintained under this contract.
DISCUSSION
The City has contracted with eLock Technologies since 2009 to maintain its growing number of bicycle lockers. The current contract, signed in 2021, expires on December 31, 2024. The attached Agreement is a five-year contract, not to exceed $90,000, which will allow for annual servicing and maintenance of the City-owned lockers, plus a contingency for upgrades, renovations, relocations and modifications, as needed. The average annual contract amount is $18,000 for the 112 locker spaces, which includes maintenance costs of approximately $150 per locker space and$1,200 contingency per year. Use of the contingency outside of the approved work scope requires City authorization.
Staff recommends that City Council authorize the attached Agreement with eLock Technologies in Exhibit 1.
ALTERNATIVES
City Council may consider a range of alternatives:
• Authorize the City Manager to execute the Agreement with eLock Technologies;
• Direct the City Manager to modify the Agreement and, with these changes, authorize the execution of the Agreement; or
• Do not authorize the Agreement to be executed, in which case the lockers will no longer be maintained and will not be usable.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The total contract amount is $90,000, for a period of five years, from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2029. The funds will be allocated for each year, as follows:
• 01/01/25 to 12/31/25 total compensation shall not exceed $19,000
• 01/01/26 to 12/31/26 total compensation shall not exceed $18,000
• 01/01/27 to 12/31/27 total compensation shall not exceed $18,000
• 01/01/28 to 12/31/28 total compensation shall not exceed $18,000
• 01/01/29 to 12/31/29 total compensation shall not exceed $17,000
Funding for the first six months of the contract (January to June 2025) is already included in the Planning, Building and Transportation’s budget, in the Bicycle/Pedestrian Program (24562743) budget, using Measure BB Bicycle/Pedestrian funding direct local distribution funds. Future fiscal year funds will also be included in the same budget with the same funding source.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
The Mobility Element in the City’s General Plan, includes Action ME14(g) which is to “Ensure that bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure is barrier-free, well-signed and well-supplied with short and long-term bicycle parking.” It also includes Action ME-21(g) which is to “Provide plentiful and secure parking for micromobility devices (i.e. scooters and bicycles) and…ensure that there is plenty of parking available at all times so families and larger groups can be confident they can find enough bicycle parking...”
The City’s Active Transportation Plan includes Program #P7 to “Install additional bike parking throughout Alameda, including in-street bike corrals and parking that accommodates bicycles of different sizes, including longer wheelbase cargo and childrens’ bikes.” Any bicycle parking, including lockers, must be maintained to continue being useful.
This action supports the City Strategic Plan priority to Invest in Transportation, Infrastructure, Economic Opportunities and Historic Resources.
This is subject to the Levine Act.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
In accordance with CEQA, this action is categorically exempt from further environmental review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 (Existing Facilities). On a separate and independent basis, this action is categorically exempt from further environmental review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines 15061(b)(3), the “common sense exemption”, where it can be seen with certainty that an agreement for the routine maintenance of existing bicycle lockers has no possibility of having a significant effect on the environment.
CLIMATE IMPACT
Supporting bicycling by providing safe and secure bicycle parking will help the City meet its goals to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by supporting mode shift away from automobiles. The Climate Action and Resiliency Plan (2019) found that transportation accounts for 70% of the City’s GHG emissions and that moving people out of automobiles is paramount to reducing transportation-related emissions.
RECOMMENDATION
That the City Manager be authorized to execute an Agreement with eLock Technologies LLC for electronic, shared-use bicycle locker maintenance and services for a total amount not-to-exceed $90,000.
Respectfully submitted,
Allen Tai, Planning, Building and Transportation Director
By,
Rochelle Wheeler, Senior Transportation Coordinator
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Margaret O’Brien, Finance Director
Exhibit
1. eLock Technologies Agreement