AMHERST — Some 500 public bikes will soon be zooming across cities and towns in the Valley now that a bike-sharing program years in the making is officially underway.
The ValleyBike Share Program, similar to bike sharing systems in large cities across the country, began on the morning of June 28 with a special bike parade and remarks from community leaders and program organizers. The ceremony was originally planned to take place at Pulaski Park in Northampton, but was switched to Smith College Indoor Track and Tennis due to poor weather conditions.
The program will add 500 public bikes, at 50 stations, across Northampton, Holyoke, South Hadley, Amherst, Springfield and the campus of the University of Massachusett Amherst.
“We think it will work really well in the Valley,” said Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz, who said he hopes the program expands to new communities.
Representatives from each community were present to give remarks, including Amherst Select Board Chairman Douglas Slaughter, Narkewicz, Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse and Steve Goodwin, deputy chancellor at UMass. Afterward, officials and some of the 150 people in attendance got to test out the new bikes by riding around the track in a bike parade.
A ceremony the same afternoon at Amherst Town Hall – held indoors because of the threat of thunderstorms – featured a ribbon-cutting by three recent Fort River School students, Liam Whitcomb, Sam Whitcomb and Zach Tuohy, who took part in a civics literacy class taught by Tim Austin in which they advocated for the public to use bicycles to get around town and the region.
The bike sharing program is being funded by a $1.3 million federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grant. Valley residents will be able to sign up for a membership that allows them to take out any bike from any station across the five communities, and return the bike at any station.
According to the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, a membership will cost around $70 to $100 annually. Residents also can pay to use the bikes without a membership.
Stephanie Ciccarello, Amherst’s sustainability coordinator, said not all bike stations are up and running yet, with just the Main Street location in front of Town Hall having bicycles available.
“This is a roll out, so stations will start popping up in all five communities over the next few weeks,” Ciccarello said.
In addition, only founding memberships are currently being sold, with other membership options, including subsidized memberships for those with limited income, coming at a later date.
During the main kickoff event, Narkewicz addressed the audience first, saying that the city of Northampton is thrilled that the ValleyBike Program finally launched after “years of hard work.” Narkewicz said the program was the latest example of being Northampton “committed to sustainable transportation.”
Narkewicz spoke of the advantages of the bike sharing system, which he said would lower carbon emissions in the Valley and connect the areas communities.
The mayor thanked the ValleyBike sponsors, which included a number of local business and organizations such as the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and MGM Springfield, which Narkewicz called the Valley’s “newest partner.”
Narkewicz gave a specific shout out to Corps Logistics, a company which hires and is owned by veterans, which specializes in creating and installing bike sharing equipment, including the bike stations and the bikes themselves. Corps Logistics made and implemented all the equipment in the ValleyBike system.
Morse echoed some of Narkewicz’s statements, saying there was “nothing but excitement” from residents when they found out that mystery construction projects on sidewalks were bike sharing stations. Morse also said the program could help the community in unexpected ways.
Holyoke is one of the poorest communities in the state, according to data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, but Morse thinks that the bike sharing program makes the city more desirable and attractive.
“It’s investments like these that bring people back to the community,” said Morse.
Morse said this was a first step in making Holyoke more “bike friendly,” which also includes efforts by the city to create new bike trails and paths.
Narkewicz said that the program was designed so that families in low-income areas would have equal access to the bike sharing program, and that certain people may get their ValleyBike memberships subsidized, if they apply.
Goodwin said the program would allow students and others to experience the Valley at a more intimate and personal level that a bike can provide.
After the speeches, Narkewicz led audience members in the bike parade around the track.
The bike sharing program has some Valley residents excited, even those who don’t own a bike.
Jean Herman from Northampton, said that he has never been an avid biker, but he walks the bike trails. Herman said that he is “ready to give it a try,” inspired by the ValleyBike system.
South Hadley resident Lucia Foley said that she hadn’t biked in “many years” but was thinking about giving it a try when she watched how much fun participants of the bike parade were having. Foley said she was at the event because she loved the “regional approach to transportation.”
“The more ways to get around efficiently, the better,” said Foley.