Monday Apr 7 2008
A friend of mine in Fort Collins told me about the new Fort Collins Bike Library, which opened over the weekend just in time for spring.
Fort Collins is one of the most bike friendly cities in Colorado - with many bike lanes and an educated and aware public when it comes to sharing the local roads. Thus making it easy to cycle for daily errands and transportation rather than just a recreational weekend ride.
Some European cities, including Paris, have made free bikes available for daily use with pick-up and return points in various parts of the city. The Fort Collins Bike Library, created by the city of Fort Collins with the assistance of the Fort Collins Bicycle Co-Op, is now doing the same thing on a smaller scale with their current fleet of 50 bikes.
Bike Library rents out bikes of all shapes and sizes for up to seven days, and plans to offer future tours around Fort Collins too.
This type of initiative should be commended and recognized by cities large and small. In an overall city budget this type of program costs next to nothing, and generates a more livable and active community.
They’re in Old Town Fort Collins at 19 Old Town Square, and a few blocks away on the west side of College at the Fort Collins Bicycle Co-Op - 222 La Porte.
More at fcbikelibrary.org and the Fort Collins Coloradoan.
April 30th, 2008 at 5:09 am
Please note that the Fort Collins Bike Library is a collaborative effort among the City of Fort Collins, BikeFortCollins.org, and the Fort Collins Bicycle Cooperative. BikeFortCollins.org is a local bicycle advocacy group that has been instrumental in salvaging the city’s bicycle coordinator position from the chopping block. BikeFortCollins.org initiated the proposal for the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) grant and administers the program under the supervision of FC Bikes, the bike program of the City. The Fort Collins Bicycle Cooperative operates as an autonomous project under the auspices of BikeFortCollins.org and, among other activities builds and maintains the fleet of loaner bikes from the library. Visit http://www.BikeFortCollins.org, http://www.fcbikecoop.org or http://www.PlatinumBikePlan.blogspot.com for more information on all these groups.
April 30th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Hi Oriello. Thanks for the links and information. And I’m glad the cycling coordinator position is still around.
I’ll definitely check out the digs next time I’m up there.
All the best- james…