1. Biking is the most environmentally friendly and sustainable means of transportation
2. Biking supports healthy active lifestyles. Lower doctor’s bills, more productive work ethics. HAPPIER PEOPLE
3. Lessens wear and tear on the roads. Saves money on costly petroleum based repairs to the streets.
4. Citizens have more money to spend on anything besides maintenance and gasoline for their automobiles.
5. Less TRAFFIC!
http://www.ibike.org/encouragement/benefits.htm
Submitted by Wendy Messerli
February 11, 2011 (last changed March 28, 2011)
I just had a great meeting with a uconn student who is interested in creating bike infrastructure in the state, and we talked about how cool it would be to integrate into downtown. Especially if we can connect to the larger whole of CT i.e. rails for trails and collinsville etc.
I had a very similar idea to this when I was trying to think of something that would lure teens like me to Bristol’s downtown. This idea reminds me of something they have in European countries like France, where you can borrow a bike for a day (for free; this works through a system where a company buys the bikes and puts their ads on them, but agrees to let city-goers use the bikes for free by only asking them to make a deposit, which will be returned to them when they return the bike). The system is not only a way to get more people up and about around Bristol, but it would also be a good way for local businesses to advertise (as they could sponser some of the bikes). This could really work because, like @planner said, in the past similar systems have boosted the popularity of towns like Colinsville. Additionally, I think Bristol has a lot of beautiful sights to offer (the river, Memorial Boulevard, Historic downtown…), which could easily be seen by bike.
There is this great blog on Bike Sharing Programs
http://bike-sharing.blogspot.com/
What a green solution too having bike infrastructure would be!
Some of the other towns in the state are making out like gangbusters with their bike trails. Collinsville is drawing 500,000 visitors a year to their trail! Southington’s trail proved tremendously popular, despite being a mere 2 miles at its beginning. A bike trail could be a huge draw to the downtown, as well as serve a transportation need.
The best part about these trails is that they become so popular that they taken on a life of their own. The public begins to push for them, so if we could get even a mile built for the downtown, odds are that a couple years later it would be 2, then 5, etc. These are all potential customers for area businesses….
More bike paths and bike friendly areas would be wonderful! Healthy fun for all ages!
The city should offer bike rentals and provide bike paths throughout downtown, the parks, and riverbeds!
(bikes with baskets)
860-582-0030Bristol City Hall 2nd Fl
I had a very similar idea to this when I was trying to think of something that would lure teens like me to Bristol’s downtown. This idea reminds me of something they have in European countries like France, where you can borrow a bike for a day (for free; this works through a system where a company buys the bikes and puts their ads on them, but agrees to let city-goers use the bikes for free by only asking them to make a deposit, which will be returned to them when they return the bike). The system is not only a way to get more people up and about around Bristol, but it would also be a good way for local businesses to advertise (as they could sponser some of the bikes). This could really work because, like @planner said, in the past similar systems have boosted the popularity of towns like Colinsville. Additionally, I think Bristol has a lot of beautiful sights to offer (the river, Memorial Boulevard, Historic downtown…), which could easily be seen by bike.
Some of the other towns in the state are making out like gangbusters with their bike trails. Collinsville is drawing 500,000 visitors a year to their trail! Southington’s trail proved tremendously popular, despite being a mere 2 miles at its beginning. A bike trail could be a huge draw to the downtown, as well as serve a transportation need.
The best part about these trails is that they become so popular that they taken on a life of their own. The public begins to push for them, so if we could get even a mile built for the downtown, odds are that a couple years later it would be 2, then 5, etc. These are all potential customers for area businesses….
More bike paths and bike friendly areas would be wonderful! Healthy fun for all ages!
The city should offer bike rentals and provide bike paths throughout downtown, the parks, and riverbeds!