Katice L. helinski Bike Share: A Sustainable Addition to Urban Transportation

Creating cities that promote sustainable lifestyles is a complex and far reaching process. One of the most important components of sustainability on an urban scale is the need for an efficient public transportation system, which provides enough convenience that, combined with walking, can be more desirable for residents to use over driving a car. Vehicular traffic congestion is one of the greatest challenges for cities around the world, as city planning departments continually reinvent forms of traffic management. One of the simplest solutions is to reduce the usage of automobiles in general. In the case of cities such as Boston a strong framework for public transportation already exists with buses, a subway system and commuter rails, yet there are still holes in this system, where it is rather difficult to access public transportation and, ironically, it is rather difficult to find parking for a personal vehicle as well. Consequently, establishing an additional transportation system would be extremely useful to the cities overall simplicity for non-drivers. With minimal costs and infrastructural changes, a bike-sharing program could provide a network for those short-distance trips that are just beyond efficient walking distances as well as link up with the existing transportation system. This idea has been successful in many cities, though the advancement of the system has not reached its full potential, as certain computerized technology is continually advancing and becoming more affordable. Bike sharing is not a part of common knowledge among urban dwellers, despite the fact that it provides solutions to many of the hassles of personal bike usage or walking in a city. The bike share network provides an opportunity for the reexamination of transportation and, consequently, the idea of the urban bus shelter. If the bicycle stations become icons within the fabric of the city, with varying degrees of visual presence through design they will become an integral part of the urban fabric and daily life more quickly than if they appear to be just another bike rack.