Monday, February 12, 2024

A Citi Bike docking station for 3rd and A

A new docking station has arrived on the SE side of Third Street at Avenue A. (Thanks, Newman, for the photo!

The station isn't listed on the system map yet, though a Citi Bike rep confirmed this is a permanent dock (and not, say, relocated here from another spot during construction). 

Citi Bike, now in its 11th year, reportedly saw record-high ridership numbers last fall. Citi Bike also announced that the current number of e-bikes in the system will double by the end of this year, per Streetsblog.

Meanwhile, the docking station on Fifth Street at Avenue A is still MIA (since October) due to the Con Ed transformer work.

33 comments:

  1. What a beautiful sight! So much better then free car parking spots.

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    Replies
    1. Some people
      Need cars to get to work. Not everyone is privileged not to drive

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    2. hold on, guys - the person who can afford a car and demands ubiquitous free parking has something to say about privilege

      Delete
  2. In the meantime:
    The MTA keeps hemorrhaging....

    MTA keeps reducing bus routes and bus frequency.

    And City DOT sabotages bus service - reducing street space for bike lanes, implementing open streets on bus routes and forcing bus detours.

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  3. Now all we need are bicyclists who know how to ride a bike! (on the street, not the sidewalks etc)

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  4. We're still far from the ideal of a station every half block, but this is progress. To really compete with dockless you need many many small stations everywhere.

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  5. Unacceptable that the City keeps spending money to improve and expand the bicycle infrastructure while bus and subway riders get declining service and pay more.

    MTA bus and subway is NYC's core essential transportation - and should be getting policy and funding priority.

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    Replies
    1. The city doesn't spend a dime on the Bike Share system, unfortunately. Otherwise it would have been less expensive to use

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  6. Total bullshit and corporate takeover of shared public space. Where do they want cars to park, for residents and also visitors to people and business? There is already a massive one on East 2ND and B, another on East 2ND and A, and the other very long one on 5TH and A which is only temporarily gone. Sick of these. There is no oversight. I like Citibike but the amount of stations in the same area is out of control. Are you sure this isn't temporary while Con Ed works on the substation? It doesn't make sense for them to put another one.

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  7. Thank God not outside my window, I had to move because I couldn't take the 24/7 slamming of the ugly blue bank bikes.

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  8. @Choresh "better", well they are different tools, cars are wildly different than bikes. They're both good. Citibikes are taking a bit too much space now.

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  9. Bicycle riders should have to pay
    congestion pricing, as they are a
    big culprit of the congestion. Fair
    is fair.

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  10. 11:04, the city of course isn't spending money on Citibike, all the DOT does is finding spots for docks. If we keep saying no to union grifters, it will stay that way. See https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2023/05/26/citibank-renews-nyc-bike-share-sponsorship-is-it-time-for-public-funding for more.

    As for MTA funding, you get the politicians that you elected, sorry you don't like the bed you made for yourself.

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  11. Make it all bike parking and restaurant sheds, cars should be in garages.

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  12. Yes! Always love to see more Citi Bike!

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  13. Envy at the residents of 154 E 3rd St who will not suffer from idling engines twice a week anymore (during street cleaning time)

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  14. @12:05 I'm sure a lot of the people would love a garage, unfortunately there are very few in NYC... and they are prohibitively expensive or full already. I for one use Citibike but I do think there is a huge glut of stations right over there, it's a bit too much. And I do enjoy when friends with cars allow me to go with them places and carry things. Bikes are a different tool.

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  15. The biggest thing to worry about is the profit-seeking shift by Lyft to double-dip, collecting add-on e-bike fares from annual subscribers who find docks full of e-bikes. They are currently pretending to waive the fare when a dock only has e-bikes, but their long-term plan is to make everybody pay for every single ride by-the-minute.

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  16. People complain cars get "free use" of public land to park - which is total BS, b/c if you've ever looked at what parking meters cost, it ain't free!

    Meanwhile, Citibike gets FREE use of PUBLIC LAND for all their effing docking stations. That's a true sell-out to corporate America, and it's 100% hypocrisy in terms of a private company getting free use of public land.

    Put the docking stations permanently INSIDE all the dining sheds, maybe then we'd have a winning combination.

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    Replies
    1. Good one! We can dine in the sheds sitting on an ebike with the meal in the bike basket. When we want to attract the attention of a waiter we can turn the pink light on the bike. Great concept, restaurants love concepts. Great for tourists, instagram and children.

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  17. Another one? Jeez.

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  18. This must be temporary. They have really big stations at 2nd and b, 2nd and a, 4th and b, 5th and a, and like a block long one on 6th and b etc. I’m guessing it’s just there because con ed still is using the space on 5th. Idk how the approvals work but it seems excessive if they’re still adding stations over there.

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  19. @ 6:36

    A Citi Bike rep told me this is permanent... it wasn't moved here from somewhere else or making up for the one in storage now from 5th and A (since October).

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  20. Good! More dining sheds + bikes and less cars on the street please.

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  21. @grieve like an actual rep? Did they tell you how they get approvals for so much space with these things? They’re like a legit rep or someone working on it who might not kno? It’s so out of control.

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  22. Does Lyft get to just put these wherever they want? I can't believe they're STILL adding more.

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  23. The long, staggered docking stations create impassable barriers for anyone trying to cross the street mid block. Maybe you can squeeze between the posts when empty; but if there are bikes there, it’s essentially a wall.

    But it’s perfectly logical that many lowly pedestrians should be inconvenienced for the benefit of the privileged few rent-a-bikers.

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    Replies
    1. Yeah I hate that too, the dining sheds always made me feel closed in like that. I’m still trying to understand how they just keep adding more of these and there’s just no pushback, like who is in charge of saying sure Lyft just keep on putting these everywhere.

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  24. Choresh Wald,

    With respect....
    people in the 1% like the Pritzkers, Gortons have plenty of resources to live in ample housing, buy whatever they need, go on vacation any where.
    And easy to care for older relatives in the suburbs (where they get driven).

    But NYC is not just for the wealthy healthy.

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  25. The dining shacks were supposed to be a temporary program; who signed the paper to make this $hitshow permanent?

    And not all of us are cyclists; I've been saying for years I'd leave NYC if there were anywhere to go, but I'm at the end of my rope with all the rent-a-cycles on the street—going the wrong way on one-way streets, hitting pedestrians (it happens.)

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  26. Who oversees and approves them putting these? It really ruins the look of NYC in my opinion, among other things. They seem to be allowed to put them everywhere.

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  27. It's ridiculous for NYC to allow a corporation to add more bike stations and NOT enforce the ubiquitous and deliberate parking that takes place in bike lanes.

    ReplyDelete

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