Louisville-based Commuting Solutions is looking into expanding a Boulder-based bikeshare service into neighboring communities.
The nonprofit received a $66,000 grant from the Denver Regional Council of Governments to explore the feasibility of bringing Boulder BCycle to Longmont, Erie, Lafayette, Superior, Louisville and Broomfield.
“Bikeshare is recommended as a first and final mile strategy for both the U.S. 36 and Colo. 119 corridors and we’re so excited to continue to explore the viability of creating a regional bikeshare program together,” Commuting Solutions Executive Director Audrey DeBarros wrote in a newsletter.
BCycle has bikes stationed across Boulder that community members can pay to rent for a trip, for a day, for a month or for a year.
“The regional BCycle bikeshare exploration for the Northwest Metro region will convene local governments, businesses and the public to provide input to a regional bikeshare system,” DeBarros said Thursday.
She said a bikeshare program would help improve connectivity to the Regional Transportation District Bus Rapid Transit stations on U.S. 36 and Colo. 119 and across the community as a whole.
“Our ability to implement one bikeshare program for the entire region would make it easier to use and likely more cost effective for all,” she said.
John Hubbard, a representative with the advocacy group Broomfield Bikes, said BCycle is transforming the way people get around.
“BCycle could fill a missing gap for micro-mobility in Broomfield, offering flexible, affordable and convenient transportation choices for Broomfield residents,” he said. “Imagine not having to fill up your car with gasoline as often or being able to easily bike to and from a Broomfield restaurant or brewery.”
He said electric bikes like the ones BCycle offers have opened new opportunities for community members who previously could not or would not ride a bike.
“With Broomfield’s favorable weather and terrain along with our precious open space and trails, it’s feasible for biking around town to be more popular than driving, and furthermore it’s better for our collective health and happiness,” he said. “We congratulate Commuting Solutions on the DRCOG grant and encourage the great folks there to pursue this study and move quickly to provide more sustainable transportation choices for Broomfield residents."
