This week, the Querencia Community Bike Shop is putting on a Bikes-To-Kids event at Tomas Rivera Elementary in SE Denton. The children from the after-school art club have been working on drawings and essays about bikes. The top three winners will receive free bikes from Querencia and free helmets from the Denton Police Department. The awards ceremony is open to the public, 2:30PM, in front of the school next to the marquee.
Following up on our previous inquiry into the city’s Bike Checkout Program for employees, Denton Police Lt. Tom Woods speaks optimistically about a revival of the program.
Yes, we are currently working on reviving the City Employee Bike to Work Program. The program was an off-shoot of CoD Alternate Transportation Day events of some years past and was successful for a couple of years.
We created the program in attempt to bring bicycle commuting – and bicycling in general – into the mainstream in Denton with city employees setting the example. The design was to give employees the opportunity to try cycling to work without buying a bike only to find out that cycling was not for them. They could simply turn the bike in and give another employee a chance to check it out. If employees enjoyed their cycling experience we encouraged them to purchase their own bike and offered assistance in selecting the appropriate bike for their needs.
Then Councilman Mark Burroughs, donated his council staff funds to purchase eight “urban bikes” for the program. All participating employees attended an eight-hour bike safety program conducted by the police department bike patrol instructors that included classroom and on-bike sessions. The training was approved by the city as an in-service training day.
Lately there has been enough interest generated among employees that we think we can dust off the program and begin to encourage employees to try cycling again.
There are a few administrative steps we have to take and a few offical approvals needed before we do so, but I am confident we can make it happen.I’ll post updates as they occur.
From the May 15, 2001 City Council Minutes, page 4, Consent Agenda:
13. NO. R2001-023
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL SUPPORTING THE PERSONAL USE OF BICYCLES CHECKED-OUT TO EMPLOYEES UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE CITY OF DENTON EMPLOYEE BIKE CHECKOUT PROGRAM; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
which was passed:
Burroughs motioned, McNeill seconded to approve the Consent Agenda except for Item #15. On roll vote, Beasley “aye”, Burroughs “aye”, Fulton “aye”, McNeill “aye”, Phillips “aye”, Redmon “aye”, and Mayor Brock “aye”. Motion carried unanimously.
Anyone know the rest of the story, if there is one?
As read about on AustinOnTwoWheels, city staff can now reserve and check out bikes online.
The city statement on this program follows:
The Austin Climate Protection Program has purchased automatic-shift bicycles that City employees can use to ride away from high gasoline prices, while steering toward a reduction in carbon emissions by minimizing the amount of vehicle miles driven. These bikes may be used for business needs, such as going to meetings, lunch or other activities. The cycles are located at several locations in the downtown area, which include:
- Town Lake Center, 721 Barton Springs Road.
- 811 Barton Springs Road.
- Austin Water Utility at Waller Creek, 625 E. 10th St.
- One Texas Center, 505 Barton Springs Road.
- City Hall, 301 W. Second St.
- Parks and Recreation, 200 S. Lamar
This project is intended to address the need for the City to reduce its carbon footprint within departments as directed under the Austin Climate Protection Plan. Vehicular travel is a significant contributor to the City’s carbon footprint and this program will help in relieving carbon emissions.
The KVUE coverage got a great quote from the Austin Transportation Director, Robert Spillar:
“I know my employees who use the bike-share program, or their own bikes, are some of the healthiest employees. It’s good business because it lowers our healthcare costs.”
With a group like Querencia recycling donated/abandoned bikes, I wonder if a partnership between QCBS and the City of Denton could facilitate a similar bike sharing program? At the very least, recycled bikes would be free and wouldn’t put any capital at risk. An official Bicycle/Pedestrian city run program like the one in Austin would be a great start.
