Though the Peninsula won’t be included in the initial rollout of bike share beginning Oct. 30 in downtown San Diego, six locations in Liberty Station, and four in Ocean Beach, are approved and ready to go.
Another nine bike share sites are proposed but not confirmed pending Port of San Diego approval in Harbor and Shelter islands, said DecoBike spokeswoman Kristen McDade Byrne.
Liberty Station locations are: on Historic Decatur Road between Dewey Road and Chauncey Street; two on Truxton Road between Womble Road and Roosevelt Road; one on Cushing Road between Farragut and Womble roads; one on Laning Road by Hollywood Suites; and one by the Liberty Station Conference Center, 2600 Laning Road.
Bike share sites in OB are: on Sunset Cliffs Boulevard and Newport Avenue; on Santa Monica Avenue between Cable and Bacon streets; one on Newport Avenue close to the beach by Abbot Street; and one on Spray Street at Brighton Avenue near Dog Beach.
“We’re going to launch in downtown San Diego with approved sites on Oct. 30 and expansion later,” said McDade Byrne, noting it’s uncertain exactly when outlying areas like PB and the Peninsula will be brought online.
McDade Byrne said getting the initial downtown bike share locations up and running “will take weeks, not months.”
Nicole Burgess, a Peninsula planner and Council District 2’s bike spokesperson, said the advent of bike share is a real positive development.
“Neighborhoods can provide support and input for bike share locations, which will help bike share to become successful throughout our city,” Burgess said. “I hope all residents will take advantage of this transportation option and look forward to seeing more riders enjoying the beauties and benefits of commuting by bike in San Diego.”
Burgess noted bike share is a “wonderful transportation option” for residents and tourists alike, adding “DecoBike is working with community groups to best meet the needs of residents.”
DecoBike has released a map of bikeshare-station locations that will be installed for their launch on its website at DecoBikeSanDiego.com. The map includes more than 100 sites that have been approved to date.
DecoBike said it’s continuing to work with property owners and the community on remaining sites that will complete the network of 180 bike-sharing stations. In 2013, DecoBike signed a 10-year contract with the city to create a citywide network of 180 bike-share stations for short-term rentals.?DecoBike stations will be located in communities from Pacific Beach to San Ysidro, providing a robust network that will give the public a viable and environmentally friendly transportation choice. The convenience of being able to rent a bike at one location and drop it off at another encourages bicycling as a mode of travel rather than relying on cars. Bike share users pay an access fee — daily, monthly or annually — that allows them to freely remove a bike from the station for up to 30 minutes at a time. If the bike is not returned to a station within 30 minutes, the user must also pay an overage fee, which is usually charged in 30-minute increments. The daily access fee in San Diego reportedly will be $15. The overage fee will be $5. The annual membership fee in San Diego is $125 (the first 1,500 members will pay only $99). San Diego’s bike share program will be entirely funded by user revenues. The program will operate year-round.