Baltimore Officials Try Bike-Share Program Again

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Baltimore City leaders are trying it again: renewed plans for a bike share program are back on the table. The city says bikes could reduce gridlock, help the environment and boost a healthy lifestyle for riders.

As Gigi Barnett explains, Baltimore has nearly $3 million to get the program on the road.

Washington DC, Chicago and Seattle have all become dream cities for bicyclists. Baltimore wants to get on that list with a bike-sharing program. After two failed attempts, city leaders announced this week they're going to try it again.

"We have a bouncing baby bike share," said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

Armed with almost $3 million from state and federal grants, the city is ready to launch the first phase of the bike share. That includes finding a vendor to run at least 250 bikes at 25 bike share stations and getting private businesses to donate.

"We absolutely need non-governmental sponsors and partners and so as part of today's announcement, we'll be reaching out to businesses and institutions," said Jon Laria, part of the mayor's Bicycle Advisory Commission.

The city first tried to launch the program back in 2010, but the contract expired before it could happen. In the latest attempt, the vendor went bankrupt.

"We're excited about the successful programs that we see around the country now and we're hopeful that we'll see some of those same successful vendors express an interest here," said City Transportation Director William Johnson.

So how does the bike share work?

Kind of like Zipcar rentals. A person who wants to rent the bike will be able to do so in half-hour increments.

The city believes this time, its bike-sharing program will work. It's already planning two new bike lanes: one on Roland Avenue and another on Maryland Avenue; they are set to open next year.

"There is no higher priority than bike share," Rawlings-Blake said.

While most bicyclists are on board with the new bike share program, some of them have criticized the scope of it, saying that it's too small. They point to cities like Washington DC, which has more than 3,000 bikes at 350 stations in its program.

The city says it will begin construction on the Roland Avenue and Maryland Avenue bike lanes in the spring.