Title
Consider Directing Staff to Provide Information on the Citywide Dockless Bike Sharing Program and Return to Council with Additional Safety Requirements. (Mayor Spencer and Vice Mayor Vella) [Not heard on December 19, 2017; January 2 or 16, 2018, February 6 or 20, 2018, or March 6 or 20, 2018]
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COUNCIL REFERRAL FORM
The Council can take any of the following actions:
1) Take no action.
2) Refer the matter to staff to schedule as a future City Council agenda item.
3) Take dispositive action if sufficiently noticed such that the public and Council have been provided sufficient information by the published agenda, and no formal published notice of a public hearing is required.
Name of Councilmember requesting referral: Mayor Spencer and Vice Mayor Vella
Date of submission to City Clerk (must be submitted before 5:00 p.m. on the Monday two weeks before the Council meeting requested): December 4, 2017
Council Meeting date: December 19, 2017
Brief description of the subject to be printed on the agenda, sufficient to inform the City Council and public of the nature of the referral:
1) Provide information on staff’s authority to enter into a contract for a Citywide dockless bike sharing program (LimeBikes - see attached contract).
At the January 17, 2017 meeting, the staff recommendation was to provide comments on draft transit strategies, including:
“…The development of the Feasibility Study and a Letter of Interest for the MTC grant program guided staff in considering and deferring the idea of pursuing implementation of a full-scale bike share system in Alameda at this time…
Instead, staff suggests pursuing a phased approach starting with the Alameda Point bicycle loaner program that is required as part of the Site A development, and to continue to monitor the evolving technology and the development of other bike share systems in the Bay Area, some of which may be better suited to Alameda’s size and needs. MTC is expected to issue a second call for projects for their bike share capital program in the next few years, at which time the City may be ready to apply for funding. Because other topics ranked higher than bike share as a priority for community members in the Transit and TDM Plan public opinion survey - such as making it easier for students to walk, bike or take transit to/from schools - staff has proposed this lower cost and more incremental approach to bike share.”
Staff report available at the following link: <https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2918939&GUID=4B0F78DE-26DE-4D87-A491-7529C56CF27D&FullText=1>
2) Consider directing staff to return to Council with additional safety requirements. The bikes have been left in dangerous areas, including vehicle driving lanes and driveways, and completely blocking sidewalks. Other cities have extra requirements for dockless bike sharing to encourage and require safe parking of the bikes. This creates an unsafe environment for wheelchairs and strollers and potential liability for the City.
Bikes are made available to youth, who are riding without helmets, which is unsafe and contrary to State law, which requires youth under 18 years old to wear a helmet, and thus, creates a potential liability for the City.
Other cities have required permits, geofencing and financial incentives to encourage users to park bikes in pre-approved, safe areas.
San Francisco article:
<http://www.sfweekly.com/news/san-franciscos-bikeshare-boom/>
Seattle article: <https://www.google.com/amp/s/seattle.curbed.com/platform/amp/2017/6/30/15897458/private-bike-share-licensing-rules-seattle>
Seattle excerpt:
"Parking
Bikes need to be upright when they’re parked, so no “horrible piles” of broken bikes on the side of the road.
Free-floating bikes-like the dockless bike shares currently getting ready for business-can only be parked in the “landscape/furniture” zone of the sidewalk or on an SDOT bicycle rack. If that landscape zone is less than three feet wide, it’s a no-go. On blocks without sidewalks, bikes can be parked in a way that doesn’t impede pedestrian or vehicle traffic.
Bikes can’t be parked on or adjacent to parklets, streateries, bus stops or shelters, loading zones, curb ramps, or driveways. Basically, they can’t get in anyone’s way, and it’s SDOT’s call whether or not the bikes are, in fact, getting in someone’s way.
Rowe told us that while there’s “plenty of sidewalk space today,” they can’t predict future needs as more employers move in and the city grows.
Bike-share operators are required to inform riders of the rules, and if a bike is incorrectly parked, the operator has two hours to correct it between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. most weekdays. That extends to 10 hours during all other times.
They’re free to figure out other parking zones on private property, as long as they work with whoever owns it to coordinate and display signage.
SDOT also carved out an ability to geofence bike-share parking locations."
Please consider additional rules for these bikes, similar to other cities, that address the safety of pedestrians, as well as other safety concerns.
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