Newton’s Finance Committee met Tuesday to discuss a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) concerning Bluebikes bike share operations.
Requested for authorization by Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller, the grant totaled $217,800 from MassDOT’s Shared Streets and Spaces Grant Program and would bolster the bike program across the city.
The Finance Committee approved the grant unanimously with a 6–0 vote.
Bluebikes is Metro Boston’s public bike share program. It comprises of more than 3,000 bikes, with over 400 stations across the city and the surrounding suburban communities, according to the website.
Jenn Martin, director of transportation planning for Newton, joined the committee meeting to discuss the grant.
Martin said this is the fourth grant the city has received to support the bike share program.
“We have fully completed the first three projects,” said Martin. “We currently have 194 Bluebikes spread across 15 stations, and we have approximately 9,000 rides a year.”
The grant in question will fulfill bike share operations in Newton for the next two years, according to Martin.
“Most of our stations operate seasonally, April through November,” said Martin. “The Boston College station is the most popular and is open year-round.”
Ward 2 Councillor David Micley asked for further explanation on what the demand is expected to look like.
“I love to see more biking activity going on around the city,” said Micley, “But I’m wondering about projected demand for use of the new stations and grades of maintenance.”
Martin clarified that the grant will be used for the current 15 stations that exist across the city, but not for the creation of new stations.
“One thing that we’re starting to see as Boston and other municipalities introduced e-bikes is that we have riders that are coming from much further away into Newton,” said Martin.
She explained that since Newton obtained electric bike options, more people have taken the opportunity to bike both within the city, as well as into Newton as a destination.
“It could be Newton residents that are trying out e-bikes, or that this is just another option to be able to go a lot further,” Martin said. “But at some of our [MBTA] stations, we’re seeing that over half the trips [there] are via bike.”
Martin said she expects to see continued growth in e-bike use in Newton.
“I do think that we’ll continue to see ridership increase and the distance and duration of trips increase as more electric bikes are introduced into the system,” Martin said.
Micley raised potential concerns about how the bikes are used on multi-use pathways across Newton.
Residents who use these paths, which are maintained by the state instead of the city, have lodged complaints about the electric bike riders using the pathways without consideration for others, explained Micley.
“I have heard some issues of e-bikes going too fast and not respecting pedestrians,” Micley said. “Something to keep in mind, if we do start to see more e-bike usage, would be ways to make sure that e-bikers are mindful of other users of bike paths.”
