Tentative bike-share study timeline set

After the June 1 council committee meetings, Ward 1 Representative Britt Thames shared the tentative timeline for the city’s bike-share feasibility study.

In a meeting with the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham that same day, Thames said they had decided to hold a stakeholder meeting and possible public involvement meeting in August. After that, the city would give the planning commission some time to launch the Birmingham bike-share program and gain some experience in September.

In October, the more intensive study would begin, and Thames said he expects the results of the study to become available in January or February 2016.

The RPCGB was the subject of another discussion during the June 1 public safety committee meeting about a comprehensive traffic study.

There is $10,000 in the current fiscal year’s budget allocated for such a study, and it is possible that the RPCGB would cover the remaining $40,000 of the cost through a grant. The study would cover traffic flow, pedestrian and bike traffic, and its results would be complementary to the downtown study currently underway and the bike-share feasibility study.

Ward 3 Representative Patrick McClusky recommended that council members spend time talking to their ward constituents about problem areas so they can come into study meetings with an agenda and set of goals.