The money wasted on Chattanooga's bike share program is inexcusable.
- They contracted with a company that was already having significant problems with other cities because their system did not work. The company had no track record other than failure.
- I can take a five-minute walk through downtown and pass five or six bike stations. Really? If I can walk there I don't need a bike. The stations need to be in outer areas to justify the rental.
- Chattanooga is not ready for bike share. It will not work until we have a bike-friendly town. Proponents can call Chattanooga bike-friendly all they want but that doesn't make it so. You can't just paint "Bike Lane" in the middle of the road. Come on, who is in charge of this?
- You are going to have to give people at least two hours per use. You can't ride somewhere, have lunch or dinner and ride back in one hour. And, see number 2 above, you don't have stations located out from downtown.
- What do you do when your bike will not lock back in the rack? What do you do when the rack is full and your hour is up (this happens when there are special events)?
- Whoever did the due diligence (or should have done it) on the company contracted for the bikes and racks and software system should be fired if they are still employed.
- Whoever developed the plan for locations of bike racks should be fired if they are still employed.
- The city should invest in bike lanes connecting to bike-friendly routes that can get someone from downtown to Brainerd, Hixson, etc.
Just a few common sense comments from an old guy. This is not hindsight. It is inexcusable. Unless, of course, it is someone wasting tax money. For some reason, no one is ever held accountable for that.
Jerry Yates
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Come on, Jerry Yates, get with the program.
Those bikes are such a progressive thing to do. I betcha they have them in Boulder, San Francisco, and Austin. That’s reason enough for Chattanooga to have them, don’t you think?
Whether or not they make financial sense in any shape, form, or fashion, should not be an issue. Just their presence in the city of Chattanooga will drive down the incidence of poverty, slow climate change, stop the war on women, strike a blow against capitalism, and create income equality for all.
If it feels good, we should just do it and not let the economics of it influence us. Instead of altering this noble progressive program one single iota perhaps we should just ask Barack Obama for federal assistance. That would be the progressive thing to do.
Lynn Miller
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So we have matched our 2013 homicides by July of 2014, we have a poverty rate twice the national average and children go to bed hungry in our city every day. I suppose those problems are too big to tackle so the mayor wants to spend my tax dollars on a bike share program that benefits a sliver of the population and only those who are downtown. Have you lost your mind?
I'm okay supporting arts programs, they benefit the entire city. I'm okay supporting recreation centers (even if my family never uses them), they benefit all the citizens. I'm okay if the mayor spends my money improving the library and paving roads. I am not okay with tax dollars being poured into a program that was doomed from the start and benefits a few hundred people downtown. We need to think about this before the next mayoral election. So out of touch. Why don't you hire some adults in your administration mayor instead of the political novices who can't stick it out, and make some better decisions for the public?
Max Pettite
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The city does not pay for the bike share. That means no taxpayer dollars are being used. The company providing the bike share is a private company and it charges fees for use. It also sells advertising.
Why do we get to say that a private company (that's not using taxpayer dollars) is a failure and should pack up and leave?
Marty Knowles