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Greenpoint Cyclists Left Out of City's Proposed Bike-Sharing Plan

By Meredith Hoffman | February 21, 2012 10:12am
Williamsburg will discuss locations for its neighborhood kiosks of the citywide Bike Share program.
Williamsburg will discuss locations for its neighborhood kiosks of the citywide Bike Share program.
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Department of Transportation

WILLIAMSBURG — The city's new bike-share program is set to offer thousands of wheels at 600 kiosks across Brooklyn and Manhattan beginning this summer — but the proposed plan leaves a significant chunk of Greenpoint without stations, according to a Department of Transportation draft.

Locals say there is a significant need for the program in the neighborhood, but the DOT's recent draft map has no proposed bike kiosks east of McGuiness Boulevard, including McGolrick Park and other residential areas of Greenpoint.

The bike-share system, modeled after programs in Washington, DC and Paris, allows cyclists to buy $100 memberships for unlimited use, or weekly and daily passes. The program will offer 10,000 bikes parked at stations in parts of Manhattan and northwest Brooklyn.

A man looked at the Alta Bicycle Share kiosk in Bowling Green, a preview of the 600 that will be in place next summer.
A man looked at the Alta Bicycle Share kiosk in Bowling Green, a preview of the 600 that will be in place next summer.
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DNAinfo/Julie Shapiro

A DOT spokesperson confirmed that the program is slated to begin this summer, but did not immediately respond to requests about the lack of kiosks beyond McGuiness Boulevard.

The Williamsburg Community Board's transportation committee has scheduled a meeting Tuesday to address, among other concerns, specific locations in the neighborhood for the solar-powered kiosks where residents can pick up bikes.

Leading up to the meeting, residents have been able to write in with suggestions for the sharing stations.

"I loved it when I did it in D.C.," said Community Board member Ryan Kuonen about Washington D.C.'s Capital Bike Share, which is run by Alta Bike Share, the same company implementing New York's program.

Kuonen said the program would be ideal for more rapid transportation and allow people to use bikes without having to worry about their personal vehicles being stolen on the street.

The community board meeting, at 435 Graham Ave., is set to begin at 6:30 p.m.