Region wants your input on where to put bike share stations

A fleet of bicycles will hit the streets in Waterloo, Kitchener and Cambridge this spring and staff at the Region of Waterloo want you to tell them where bike stations should go.

The pilot project between the cities and the company Drop Mobility will launch this spring and run through the summer says Julie Belanger, a transportation demand management planner at the Region of Waterloo.

"The plan is to gradually increase the number of bikes up to a fleet of 500. So you can expect to find bikes along transit routes and near points of interest," Belanger said.

In Kitchener,a separate program called Drop Bike will replace the Community Access Bikeshare, which was run by The Working Centre. That service started in 2013 butwas discontinued in early 2018 because it wasn't financially viable.

Survey goes until fall

Belanger says there's been a lot of public interest in the program. She said so far, 145 people have recommended 500 potential locations for the bike stations.

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"We've heard over the last couple of years that the public is very interested in a bike share program and I think the response to the survey on Engage WR has pointed to the level of excitement," she said.

The survey is ongoing until the end of the pilot, which will wrap in the fall. Belanger says this way, people can ride the bikes and use them for commuting or errands, then get a feel for where bike stations may be lacking.