Seattle is showing all indications of a city ready to take its bikeshare system to the next level.
Tom Fucoloro details the city of Seattle's plan to address one of the glaring weaknesses of the Pronto bikeshare system: it's limited service area. "That’s why the city has put together a visionary plan for a massive, fast expansion of Pronto that would increase the service area from five square miles to 42 square miles, reaching from Northgate to Rainier Beach to Alki. The number of stations would increase from 50 to 250, and the percentage of Seattle residents within walking distance of a station would go from 14 percent to 62 percent."
Fucoloro quotes Seattle Department of Transportation Director Scott Kubly, who says that the system should aim to expand the reach of transit by connecting more homes and destination within reach of transit routes.
Also included in the system expansion plans are electric assist bikes, such as those recently announced for the city of Birmingham, Alabama.
The Seattle Department of Transportation drew up its expansion plans in an application for a $25 million 2015 TIGER grant. Applications were due June 5, with awards typically announced in September.
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