CITY OF NEW ORLEANS RELEASES BICYCLE SHARE SYSTEM 'REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS'

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Office of the Mayor Press Releases & Media Advisories

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

April 19, 2016


Contact: Hayne Rainey 

For Media Inquiries Only
communications@nola.gov
(504) 658-4945

CITY OF NEW ORLEANS RELEASES 
BICYCLE SHARE SYSTEM 'REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS'

Affordable and accessible transportation option for residents


NEW ORLEANS — Today, Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced the release of a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the private operation and financing of a comprehensive bicycle share system. The system is expected to serve a wide range of residents and visitors across neighborhoods and provide year-round, equitable access to worksites and destinations. All proposals must be privately financed. No public dollars will be spent on the implementation, operation or maintenance of the system.

 

As the local community celebrates the 5th Annual New Orleans Bike to Work Week, bike share has been identified as an affordable and effective tool for increasing urban mobility and improving economic, environmental and health-related indicators when integrated with the current transportation network. New Orleans expects to be one of over 500 cities around the world, including some of the oldest, to offer bike share as an equitable mode of transit.   

 

Mayor Mitch Landrieu said, “The City of New Orleans is ready to support a bicycle share system that meets resident, worker and visitor mobility needs. We developed this RFP after many years of input from the community and support from public, private, neighborhood and nonprofit partners. This is an opportunity for a world-class partner to introduce and fund a transformational and equitable resource for our city.”

 

A bike share system is a low-cost and flexible form of transportation with on-demand access to a fleet of specialized bikes across a defined service area at fixed stations or hub locations. This system is also widely praised as a convenient, healthy and sustainable way to get around densely populated areas. The RFP sets the parameters for the system, such as the service area including the Claiborne and Biomedical Corridors.  

 

This RFP is the result of many years of planning and outreach. In 2014, the Regional Planning Commission jointly funded a Bike Share Feasibility Study and Business Model with the City of New Orleans. This comprehensive report was generated after national consultant Nelson\Nygaard engaged with City officials and community stakeholders. In 2013, the City received a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities grant to investigate beginning a bike share program. In 2012, Bike Easy released a preliminary feasibility study sponsored by the UNO Transportation Institute. Additionally, Resilient NOLA, the City’s resilience strategy and the Livable Claiborne Communities Study Final Report both cite bicycle share as a tool for connecting people, employment and essential services.    

 

According to all three studies, New Orleans demonstrates a high level of bike share readiness. Based on the experience of existing bike share systems and their metrics for success, New Orleans is well equipped to support a successful and viable system.  Recent studies have also shown that bike share is actually safer than regular biking.   

 

This RFP is being released following additions to RTA service and ongoing roadway improvements aligned to the 2011 complete streets ordinance. With the completion of the Lafitte Greenway in 2015, New Orleans exceeded 100 miles of completed bikeways, including trails, shared lanes and bike lanes. The latest bikeways include bike lanes on Lake Forest Boulevard, Mayo Boulevard and L.B. Landry Avenue and a two-way cycle track on Old Behrman Highway.     

 

District D Councilmember Jared C. Brossett, City Council Transportation and Airport Chair, said, “Bike sharing is an innovative transportation program that is successfully making its way into the transportation system of cities across nation. The ultimate goal is to create a more sustainable transportation landscape that provides new mobility options for short trips and to improve connectivity to other modes of transportation by implementing a bicycling service that is fully integrated into our improving public transit system. Issuing this bike sharing RFP is an important step forward in increasing bicycling visibility, providing access to underserved residents who depend on public transportation, and promoting New Orleans as a vibrant and progressive city.”

 

Regional Planning Commission Executive Director Walter Brooks said, “This is a significant day for bicycling in New Orleans. As we’ve seen in cities around the country and the world, bike share provides people with new mobility options, introduces a wider audience to bicycling, and increases bicycle safety. Bike share will be an exciting new addition to our regional transportation network and RPC looks forward to continuing to work with the City and other stakeholders to bring a successful and sustainable bike share system to New Orleans.”

 

“Bike Easy is very excited to see New Orleans take this step towards a bike share system with a strong focus on equity that will increase affordable, accessible transportation options for everyone," said Dan Favre, Executive Director of Bike Easy. “We especially look forward to bike share in New Orleans becoming an easy, healthy choice for the many citizens who currently lack viable ways to get to work, the grocery store, the park, and other destinations."

 

RFP respondents must provide significantly more information on pricing, design and station/hub locations. The RFP calls for the first major phase of the system to be installed by the second quarter of 2017 and is asking respondents to fund the system with private dollars. No public dollars will be used. Final selection notification is scheduled for June 23, 2016. 

 

To download the RFP, click here.  

 

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