A study conducted by the Project for Public Spaces finds that New York's new CitiBike stations are a locus for more than just cycling. They provide wayfinding and street seating, serve as gathering places, and encourage random social interactions.
"Are bikeshare stations adding to the sociability and amenability of the places they occupy?" ask PPS Transportation Associate David M. Nelson and Transportation Intern David Leyzerovsky. Using the observational methods of William Holly Whyte, they found: "the answer was a clear and resounding 'Yes!' People — not just bikeshare users, but everyone passing by station docks — are adopting the bikeshare system as part of the social infrastructure of the city."
At locations throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan, they observed that "[t[he bikeshare stations provided a place for people to eat, read, relax, socialize, skateboard, people watch, and play."
"Beyond their official purpose as merely a transportation program, bikeshare stations have proven to be dynamic tools for triangulation," they conclude.
Read the full story: The Social Life of CitiBike Stations
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City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority