MEMO TO: Members of the City Council
FROM: Mayor John Marchione
SUBJECT:
title
Bike Share
I. RECOMMENDED ACTION
recommendation
Staff is seeking Council direction on both the proposed permit conditions for a bike share pilot and the enabling ordinance to allow bike share to be regulated and permitted in the City.
body
II. DEPARTMENT CONTACTS
Erika Vandenbrande, Director, Planning and Community Development: 425-556-2457
Don Cairns, PE, Manager, Transportation Planning, and Engineering: 425-556-2834
Buff Brown, Senior Planner, Transportation Planning, and Engineering: 425-556-2870
III. DESCRIPTION/BACKGROUND
This study session will:
• Respond to Council questions and comments from the May 22, 2018, study session and the June 12, 2018, Planning and Public Works Committee meeting;
• Share recommended permit conditions that respond to issues raised by the Council and members of the community;
• Review a proposed implementation and evaluation process for a bike share pilot; and
• Review a draft ordinance to enable regulation and permitting of bike share through right-of-way use permits (typical in most cities including Seattle, Kirkland, and Bellevue).
Background Information
Bike Share Programs
Bike share is growing in popularity across the country. The latest version of bike share involves private companies that operate their own fleet of free-floating bikes at no cost to local government. Each bike has GPS and can be found via a smartphone app. A lock on the rear wheel is unlocked via the phone app and can be ridden and locked by the users at their destination, making it available for another user. The cost of using the bike share is borne by the user. Three independent bike share companies launched in Seattle in July 2017. Seattle is now nearing the end of its pilot program and is preparing new permit language to continue its program. Kirkland and Bellevue are also developing bike share pilot programs, but have not formally completed their permit conditions. They are at a similar stage as Redmond in creating pilot programs via a right-of-way use permit. These regulations will need to address an evolving industry that has, for example, recently introduced e-bikes and electric scooters.
City Goals and Plans
Bike share is included as a strategy in Redmond’s Transportation Master Plan (TMP). Redmond’s TMP calls for the implementation of bike share and envisions “abundant access to bicycles through a rental ‘Bike Share’ program.” This supports a key strategy to “Improve Travel Choices and Mobility.” The TMP highlights that “bicycles also act as an extension of transit trips, providing important last mile connections that make alternative transportation trips more successful.”
Bike share is anticipated to serve two main trip functions, improve travel choices for short trips, and improve first/last mile transit connections. Preliminary results of the first 6-months of Seattle’s bike share program indicate that 74 percent of the users in Seattle have used bike share to connect to transit.
Public Outreach
The City distributed a public questionnaire in April and May 2018 and received 935 responses. The results indicate general support for a bike share program, with key public concerns around bike clutter, poorly parked bikes, parking in undesired locations, safety, and cost.
On-going communication with the community is an important component of introducing bike share to Redmond. The City of Redmond has provided and will continue to provide, additional information on the www.Redmond.gov/bikeshare <http://www.Redmond.gov/bikeshare> page, eNews, social media pages, and via media releases.
Bike Share Approach
Council Issues Matrix
The Council provided input and direction regarding a bike share pilot program at the May 22, 2018 Study Session and June 12, 2018, Planning and Public Works Committee. These issues are addressed in the Council Issues Matrix (Attachment A). The Council Issues Matrix provides staff recommendations, the rationale, and references to the particular draft permit clauses that address each issue raised.
Permit Conditions
A draft of the Redmond Bike Share Pilot Permit Conditions is also provided (Attachment B). The draft permit includes the following sections, which are referred to by letter in the Council Issues Matrix.
A. Public Safety & Education
B. Communication and Response
C. Bike Parking
D. Bike Quantity
E. Bike Rebalancing
F. Performance Measures
G. Permit Fees and Reimbursement
H. Permit Administration
This draft permit language was developed in response to Council and Community concerns and has been extensively reviewed by staff in all departments affected by bike share including Legal.
Proposed Implementation and Evaluation
If Council supports moving forward with a pilot bike share program, staff would finalize the permit conditions and bring the enabling ordinance to Council on August 21, 2018. If approved, staff expects to grant two permits and have bike share deployed by the end of September. This deployment would initiate a 1-year pilot bike share program with on-going evaluation and enforcement of the permit conditions. Staff would complete a formal evaluation of the pilot in the summer of 2019 and bring recommendations back to Council for how to proceed with bike share about two months prior to the end of the pilot.
Enabling Ordinance
A draft ordinance amending this code is provided in Attachment C. Staff is seeking direction from Council on this ordinance and would bring a final ordinance back to City Council on August 21, 2018. Staff recommends regulating bike share through the use of a right-of-way use permit that would place specific conditions on the operation and use of bike share in Redmond. This would be done by amending MRC 12.08 Street Repair, Improvements, and Alternations to include regulating and permitting the business uses of streets and public right-of-way to include bike share. This approach would enable the City to address issues of concern through a right-of-way use permit, which can be revoked upon failure to comply with permit conditions. Further, it is consistent with the approach being considered by neighboring jurisdictions.
IV. PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS HELD
Council Actions/Communication
|
Date |
Action/Committee Presentation |
|
February 13, 2018 |
Planning and Public Works Committee |
|
April 17, 2018 |
Planning and Public Works Committee |
|
May 22, 2018 |
City Council-Study Session |
|
June 12, 2018 |
Planning and Public Works Committee |
V. IMPACT
A. Service/Delivery:
N/A
B. Fiscal Note:
Bike share services would be provided by private vendors at no cost to the City via a right-of-way use permit. Permit requirements and application fees will be set to reimburse the city for costs incurred to issue and administer the permits, monitor the program, and respond to bike share issues.
VI. ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATION
The Council can modify the schedule, ask for more information, or decline to proceed with a bike share pilot program at this time. Currently no mechanism exists to regulate bike share in Redmond. The existing code does not clearly require a permit to operate bike share in Redmond.
VII. TIME CONSTRAINTS
Bike share bikes are beginning to arrive in Redmond due to the programs in Seattle and Bothell. Kirkland and Bellevue are both developing programs that are expected to begin this summer. Timely adoption of regulations to manage bike share in Redmond is critical to minimizing impacts in the community.
VIII. LIST OF ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Council Issues Matrix
Attachment B: Draft Bike Share Permit Conditions
Attachment C: Draft Enabling Ordinance