After years of teasing, CitiBike appears to actually be coming to the Upper West Side.
In two sessions this Thursday (at 6 and 7 p.m.), the city Department of Transportation and local officials are gathering at Redeemer Presbyterian Church at 150 West 83rd street, Room 406, to start the planning process for siting CitiBike stations on the Upper West Side. It’s not yet clear where exactly the stations will go, but the Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District told its members that it would reach as high as 79th street on Columbus.
The DOT is giving a rather vague timeline at this point: “We anticipate that the bike share system will expand into Upper Manhattan between 2015 and 2017, reaching as far north as 130th Street,” a spokesperson told us.
Right now, CitiBikes only go as far North as 61st street and Broadway. We last wrote about CitiBike, and why it’s not on the UWS yet, here.
Suffice to say, if you’re interested and want to be a part of the process, show up Thursday!
This is welcoming news, although I have a bit of a reservation at the moment with the vendor. The overall quality of the bikes and their stations have declined over CitiBike’s existence. I am starting to lean towards having the new vendor improve the existing system’s infrastructure prior to expansion.
It may be too early to gauge the new ownership and its impact on CitiBike, but I hope they are cautious.
Please no
Please YES!! Very excited for Citibike. Especially for trips between the UWS and UES, and everywhere that is an awkward trip by subway or bus. I have a bike or two of my own, but I don’t like to lock them on the street, out of worries of theft, and sometimes needing to do a point-to-point trip. Citibike is the PERFECT solution.
God NO!!!!!!!!!
The system is not maintained as promised.
The same system, hardware and the software that operates it, has had huge problems in EVERY city where it has been installed. At the hearings before it was installed the city was warmed that the problems that other cities still had with the idea. The backer LIED through their teeth saying these problems were knicks in the roll outs in various cities. Anyone that uses Google could find that the major problems were still very much in evidence then and still are in 2015. Bike share systems have NEVER even covered their expenses, even in uber liberal San Fran. Cites have had to pour in millions to kept the systems up and operating. There have been no safety checks of most of thee bikes since they were put out on the streets a couple of years ago, is just one of the major problems that has not been fixed. So far the Mayor has send no to public funding but watch what the city council slips in to the upcoming budget.
Boy I will tell you for a Bank that gives almost no money to the Bike project CITIBank is raking in the PR.
Is it a good idea for the UWS? Not sure but ti would be nice if these bikes were subject to the same regulations as those of us who ride our own. But then never mind.
Can’t wait for this; finally! NIMBYs crawl back in your holes!
Agreed! I remain fully convinced that providing alternative methods of transportation (not to mention, ones that let you get some exercise while you’re at it) make our city better!
Looking forward to an expanded bike share system!
Oh, goody — more clueless, helmet-free tourists riding three abreast on the sidewalks; more brutally ugly, poorly maintained, in-your-face installations taking up sidewalk and parking space. As for the “awkwardness” of getting from the UWS to the UES, my arthritic 70+ legs take me across Central Park in twelve minutes, fifteen if there’s a headwind. Bikes have their place as transportation and recreation, but CitiBike has been, to my mind, nothing but a blight.
I want to see every grey haired old biddy out there hissing as these bikes go by. After all they are just a few short years away from a mobility vehicle themselves. What is wrong about alternative transportation?
And you will. Also red-haired old biddies like me. 🙂 Sean, dear, the point is not that many of us are against alternatives to automobiles in the city are bad. Bicycles are great as long as they are used responsibly (eg, no texting while riding, no riding against traffic in one-way bike lanes, no babies in the front basket and please wear a helmet). But CitiBike has not maintained its bikes or its systems properly, and many CitiBike customers are casual riders from out of town who ignore the rules of the road, putting themselves and pedestrians in danger. If you want to ride a bike in NYC, well, bless you, child. Buy one and enjoy it in good health. And when you’re old enough to need your own mobility vehicle, may you get one with a defective battery.
IMO as a native New Yorker who does not know how to drive and walks or uses bus/subway…
Many more cyclists (including Citibike users) downtown and who mostly run red lights and are oblivious to pedestrians.
Not a good sign for pedestrians of all ages.
Can’t make it Thursday evening. If someone on here is attending can you please ask why they’re not at least going up to 96th? And around Broadway?
Thanks!
They aren’t alternative means for transportation, they’re corporate advertisements for a horrible bank. The bike sucks, the stands they lock them into are hideous. Bring them, see what happens. I’ll be out there with Larry Hogue throwing every city bike rider into 96th street.
So the haters can go live in jersey city or any other place without a bike share system. I’m glad it’s coming to the UWS.
Bring it!
i’m happy about this. maybe i’ll ride to work… usually i just skateboard but not the best mode for work. i hope it knocks that bike stand at the entrance to central park at 67th out of biz.
Do “bikers” regularly shower before they go into the office or place of employment ???
No. They use AXE.