Showing posts with label docking stations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label docking stations. Show all posts

Saturday, February 19, 2022

2 new Citi Bike docking stations for Avenue A

The Citi Bike expansion in the East Village saw the arrival of two new docking stations on Avenue A this past week ... with 41 docks between 11th Street and 12th Street outside Steinerville (above) ... and 41 docks between 13th Street and 14th Street...
In November, DOT reps told a Community Board 3 committee that "demand shows 1,804 docks [are] still needed in CB3." The proposal calls for an installation of 683 docks for now, with more capacity coming by extending existing stations. (Find the presentation here.)

Other new Citi Bike locations include Fifth Street at Avenue A, Fourth Street at Avenue B, Seventh Street at Avenue B, Sixth Street at Second Avenue and 14th Street at First Avenue (SW corner) and 10th Street at Second Avenue. 

And for anyone keeping tabs on parking around Avenue A, the removal of the abandoned dining structure Thursday outside the former August Laura gave back four spots on Sixth Street ...

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Today in docking station relocation news



After two-plus months at the southwest corner of Fifth Street and Second Avenue... workers today removed the Citi Bike docking station and are returning it to its previous location at the southwest corner of Fourth Street and Second Avenue... photo by Derek Berg.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Citi Bike makes its kiosks easier to understand, probably



Citi Bike stations around the city are getting a new, user-friendly design.



This past winter, Citi Bike served as a client for first-year SVA students in MFA Interaction Design. Their challenge: "come up with ways to make Citi Bike more user-friendly for its hundreds of thousands of new and casual riders."

As the Citi Bike Tumblr explains, the proposals were so impressive that they decided to work with two of the students "to bring their work out of the classroom and into the streets."

We spotted the revamped visuals at several East Village docking stations last evening, like this one on East Second Street and Avenue C...

Monday, May 19, 2014

East 4th Street Citi Bike docking station now 'From a Different Perspective'


[Last Monday morning via Derek Berg]

Last Monday morning, workers temporarily removed the Citi Bike docking station on East Fourth Street just west of Second Avenue ... to make way for a street mural courtesy of DOT Art and the Fourth Arts Block (FAB).

The docking station returned this morning...


[Photo by Derek Berg]

And here is the final product with the bikes back in place...


[Photo of FAB's programs coordinator, Tyler S. Bugg, via FAB's Facebook page]

The mural, titled "From a Different Perspective," was created by Herb Smith and curated by FAB's Public Art Director, Keith Schweitzer.

Monday, May 12, 2014

[Updated] Temporarily packing up the Citi Bike docking station on East 4th Street



Crews this morning removed the Citi Bike docking station on East Fourth Street just west of Second Avenue. This is temporary, per EVG contributor Derek Berg, who took these photos...



Apparently East Fourth Street here between Second Avenue and the Bowery will be resurfaced sometime soon ... (though we didn't spot it scheduled yet on the DOT website...) will be getting a street mural courtesy of DOT Art and the Fourth Arts Block.

Here's more about the program:

In collaboration with New York Cares and the DOT Bike Share Program, DOT Art beautifies asphalt around Citi Bike stations with colorful designs. … The first project took place in August 2013 at the Franklin Street station between West Broadway and Varick Street in Manhattan.


[Via Dot Art]

Later today, Derek spotted someone putting down an undercoat…





And if you are looking to either get or return a Citi Bike... Second Avenue and East Second Street might be a good option.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Citi Bike testing new ways to boost memberships



EVG reader Dave from 2nd Ave. spotted this enhancement to the Citi Bikes docking station this morning on East 11th Street and Second Avenue.

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Hey, wait a minute — that's not a Citi Bike docking station



A reader alerted us to the fact the the Citi Bike docking station on the northwest corner of Avenue B and Second Street disappeared yesterday… this was before whatever that thing is called in the photo arrived to help resurface the street…

Friday, November 8, 2013

More Citi Bike docking stations for East 10th Street



This afternoon, crews are adding more docking stations to the existing Citi Bikes hub on East 10th Street along Tompkins Square Park, EVG reader John reports... He figures there will be 16-20 more bikes now.... which, among other things, will allow more opportunities to do the stationary workout along here.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Business opportunity available



Previously on EV Grieve:
Docking blues: Doing the 'checking-all-of-the-Citi Bike-stations dance' (43 comments)

Friday, August 16, 2013

Docking blues: Doing the 'checking-all-of-the-Citi Bike-stations dance'



During the past week, we've heard some grumbling from Citi Bike users who say that they continue to have problems finding an open space to dock their bikes at night in the East Village. The people we talked to say that they are fans of the program, but are growing frustrated by the distribution problems.

The Times reported yesterday on the program's "tricky juggling act" to "remove bikes from fully occupied stations, and to refill stations before the supply runs dry."

Meanwhile, there are stories of riders on the phone with Citi Bike reps, trekking from Astor Place to Avenue C and back to Astor Place in search of empty docking stations.

We walked around Wednesday night and found six full docking stations... and watched people ride by looking for a place to park. (Maybe this leads to some abandonment issues?)

We asked a few East Village residents to share their experiences... the following quotes are from residents who are fully supportive of the bike-share program. (For now, anyway...)

From a resident who lives on Avenue A and East Sixth Street:

"The availability just follows the rhythms of the day — in the mornings during the rush to go to work there are no bikes, and after work there are no [parking spots] because everyone has brought them back.

When I first decided to use the bikes to ride to the train, I was late to work a few days because I searched a few stations around me, and couldn't find any bikes. Evenings have the exact opposite problem; on Monday evening, I checked 6th and B, 7th and A, then finally caught someone pulling out at St. Mark's and 1st and rushed to get into the spot.

I wasn't the only one slowly riding around in circles waiting for a free spot; I noticed at least 2 other riders that I kept intersecting. Somehow, weekends aren't that much better. On Saturday, I was late to meet a friend because I spent time again doing the checking-all-of-the-Citi Bike-stations dance. On a Saturday afternoon!

So, unfortunately, I think I might need to shift my thinking around the bikes as something that I can use when the opportunity arises, versus a reliable, regular transportation method.

I think our neighborhood really needs additional stations. I originally imagined a huge boost to the quality of life in the area, but it's not quite there yet."



And this is from Matt:

"There have been a few signs of improvement recently, but not being able to find/dock a bike is still a frustrating issue. It used to be that if I left for work after 8:35 a.m., I knew not to expect to get a bike at my usual rack at 13th and A. Now it's less predictable — some days there might be a half-full rack, others all the bikes might have the red light on, and other's it'll be completely empty even if I'm early.

Same thing happens at night – if I leave work after a certain hour, I prepare myself for a trip around the East Village looking for a spot. Monday was a new record, when it took me 7 docks to find an open slot (13th and A, 10th and A, 14th and B, 12th and D, 9th and C, 5th and C, and 6th and B, until finally catching someone leaving at 7th and A). I think the most frustrating thing about those joyrides is that the app consistently says that openings are available at those docks.

I love the idea of Citi Bikes and still think they're the most exciting thing to happen to the city in a long time, but I hope they can pull this together."

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Sunday morning Citi Bike docking station observation



Around 8:45... no available bikes on East Third Street at First Avenue (above) and all but one bike ready for action on East Second Street at Avenue B...

Monday, June 10, 2013

A rainy afternoon look at a Citi Bikes docking station



First, we promise not to post about a docking station every day.

Meanwhile! EVG reader Dan Scheffey noted the docking station on East 10th Street along Tompkins Square Park this afternoon ... one bike remaining on a shitty rainy day...

Several people have told us that this docking station has been a little buggy (or, "wildly dysfunction," as one person put it) ... For instance, on Saturday, when you tried to return a bike, the green light would not go on signaling that it was locked into the rack.

One Citi Bike user thought that he had safely locked his rental back in place here ... only to learn later that someone took it for a 7-hour joyride.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Random Sunday afternoon Citi Bike docking station check



Zero bikes available at East 13th Street and Avenue A ... and two on East Ninth Street at Avenue C....

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Someone continues to vandalize the Citi Bikes docking station on East 13 St. and Avenue A


[May 24 via EVG reader Mark]

The Citi Bikes docking station on East 13th Street at Avenue A continues to a source of anger for an unknown person or group of people.

On May 17, someone hung anti-Citi Bike flyers and slapped a large hunk of dog poop on the unoccupied docking station. (Later cleaned off.) The following week, someone taped photocopies of a Post article titled "Get the rack outta here" on the docking station ... with instructions to call 311.

Now, a reader on that block notes that the anti-Citi Bikes campaign has moved on from poop and colorful flyers.

"I spoke with Citi Bike workers about an issue I had docking a bike at the 13th Street station. The two workers explained that someone has been vandalizing the mechanism for docking a bike at the station .... and they found four bikes with punctured tires [yesterday] morning.

"They also said it this was not the first time this station has been vandalized."

Meanwhile, on Sunday, I saw a woman remove a bike from this station... she got about 50 feet down East 13th Street before realizing that the tire on the bike she selected was flat. It was likely flat when she backed it off from the docking station.

Friday, May 24, 2013

And now, more complaints about Citi Bikes docking stations



EVG reader Mark White spotted a resident hanging these clips on the docking station on East 13th Street at Avenue A this morning...



... it's a photocopied article from the Post about workers removing a bike station on West 13th Street...

As for the resident with the flyers... Per Mark: "She was very upset and very concerned for safety, and let's just say she wasn't too pleased with Bloomberg. She want down the block taping them to buildings. Told me to call 311."

Now's a good time to repost the following from CB3 regarding complaints about Citi Bikes:

Bike Share will launch May 27. Issues that must be dealt with immediately, such as a blocked driveway or loading zone, should be emailed to the community board office (info@cb3manhattan.org) and we will work with DOT to have these sites inspected immediately.

There are other concerns regarding placement of installations or size of installations, or the number of installations in close proximity to each other. We are asking people to wait until bike share is in operation for a month to see what works and what doesn’t. What installations are not being used to capacity? What installations do not accommodate the number of bikes needed?

The Community Board 3 Transportation Committee will meet on Tuesday, July 16 to hear concerns. DOT will attend the meeting to note these concerns and address or inspect and follow up. Please check the CB 3 website for the meeting location or sign up to receive monthly agendas (join cb 3’s mail list on website).

Anyway, at least it wasn't dog poop.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Trading places: Citi Bikes docking station making the move on East 11th Street; annoyance ensues



The Citi Bikes docking stations on the southeast corner of East 11th Street at First Avenue are on the move, as these photos by Greg Matherly of Reciprocal Skateboards show.



The docking stations are headed across First Avenue, to the northwest corner across from Veniero's on East 11th Street. No sooner than this happened did we hear that business owners on this stretch of the street are very unhappy with this move. "That is a serious business killer — especially on holidays and weekends," said one.

Of course, business owners at the previous spot of the docking station were unhappy too. Carlo Giurdanella of Bella Tile had complained that one of the new bike docks had taken away his loading zone.

"I don't know how we’re going to be able to operate really now effectively," he told CBS New York on May 1. "It's sad, dramatic negative impact."

Perhaps the move will mark the return of the longstanding Halal cart here. The made way for a truck after the docking station arrived on the southeast side of East 11th Street...


[May 4]

Friday, May 17, 2013

Percy's Tavern owner cleans off poop-smeared Citi Bikes docking station on East 13th Street



Earlier, we noted that someone smacked a large piece of dog poop on the Citi Bikes docking station on East 13th Street and Avenue A. This angered Larry Watson, the owner of Percy's Tavern on 13th and A.

"I think this behavior is disgusting! As a dog owner, I hate when people don't bother to clean up after their dogs in their own neighborhood ... but this a childish," he told us. "Whether you agree with the bikes or not, protest or support it in an adult form. I cleaned it off!"

[Updated] Someone befouled this Citi Bikes docking station with a large piece of dog poop; plus signs



EVG reader Sam shares this with us today from over on East 13th Street at Avenue A... someone left a sign painted in blood red that reads: "TO THE MAYor REMOVE All "CiTi BiKES" BoycoTT CiTy BAnK." The other homemade sign reads: "CitiBank is responsible for all CitiBikes To be put in here. Stop Them Call 311 To Complain." There is a signature on that sign, though it's tough to make out the name.



Oh, and someone put a large piece of dog poop on the first docking station in the row...



Larry Watson, owner of Percy's Tavern on the corner, cleaned off the poop this afternoon. Read that here.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Putting the docking stations to good use ahead of Citi Bikes



EVG reader Orchid spotted this tonight on East Fourth Street near Second Avenue... looks like the docking stations work! Oh, and let me know when 45 minutes is up!

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Citi keeping the docking stations graffiti free

Say this about the bike share program — Citi crews (assuming?) seem to quickly respond to docking stations in need, like here on East Fifth Street and Avenue C...

Saturday!


[Bobby Lebrini]

Tuesday!


[Steven Matthews]