Wooden bike sharing at Governors Island

Courtesy of Gothamist.

As part of its $400 million renovation of the former Coast Guard base, the city has contracted Dutch design firm West 8 to build new parks and promenades on the island. West 8 will also build 3,000 wooden bicycles for free use by visitors to the island, which is just a 10-minute free ferry ride from downtown Manhattan.

The renovations on Governors Island, including the free bike share program, are expected to be completed by 2012. The island is open during summer weekends.

The bike share program mirrors one in Paris, which Mayor Michael Bloomberg visited in September.

"You have to hand it to the people of Paris," Bloomberg said at the time of his visit. "They are willing to try new things. Some will work and some won't. This obviously has worked, and we have to do the same thing."

Sustainable transportation advocates are hopeful the bike-share program on Governors Island could serve as a model for an eventual citywide program.

"This innovative first step ensures we won't be left off the list of major cities that are using bike-share programs to provide green and convenient transportation," said Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives.

The West 8 page for the newly designed island shows the bike in most of the mock-ups, not just the ones dealing with the bikes themselves

Comments

[Jack]

Apparently metal bikes are ruining the environment?

[washcycle]

I think the idea is to make them distinctive so that they're less likely to be stolen.