Explanation
Background: This resolution supports the Director of the Recreation and Parks Department to enter a grant application to the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) which will be used to create a regional pilot expansion for the CoGo Bike Share Program. The project will provide 26 bike share stations and 232 additional bikes to expand the existing CoGo network. The project involves direct collaboration of Columbus, Bexley, Grandview Heights, and Upper Arlington jurisdictions. The grant requires a 20% match. Pilot expansion will provide:
Upper Arlington 5 stations
Grandview Heights 4 stations
Bexley 4 stations
Columbus 13 stations
CoGo Bike Share launched in 2013 in the downtown core of Columbus. The 30 station network was limited in size and scope, and data shows that ridership increased significantly as the system expanded from downtown into the Harrison West, Short North, OSU campus, and Weinland Park areas. August 2016 projections show that ridership in 2016 will increase over 15% from 2015. Public survey response clearly indicates that expanding the reach of bike share into the inner ring suburbs of Grandview Heights, Bexley, and Upper Arlington is a high priority, and the four jurisdictions have joined together for this funding application. The expansion offers much wider utilitarian use for bike share, including access to more transit stops, community retail centers, cultural destinations, trails, employment centers, and attractions. In early 2016, MORPC convened a summit to gauge the interest of communities surrounding Columbus about initiating bike share within their area. From these early sessions, a four city joint collaboration was formed, and several individual planning sessions during March to June lead to a proposed pilot project. The planning phase looked at costs, system connectivity, funding options, and an intercity MOU operational plan. Each city was charged with identifying proposed sites, with Columbus charged with pl...
Click here for full text