Passaic looking into bike-sharing system to help residents get around, ease parking

PASSAIC — Parking in the city can be challenging, and at times, so can driving. For those reasons and more, local officials are exploring the possibility of bringing in a bike-sharing system for the city and neighboring areas.

Inspired by the success of systems such as Citi Bike in New York City, Jersey City and Hoboken, Passaic Mayor Hector Lora said he is hoping this will also help promote a more sustainable and equitable city.

Coupled with a new jitney-like bus route running from the shopping districts to bus depots and train stations, the goal is to help transport people to shops and job opportunities in their immediate environs.

"You are talking about a city of 70,000 people where more than half of the households don't own more than one car," Lora said.

About 35% of the households own one car and about 20% do not own a car, which is why the mayor said he hopes to increase transportation options in a city that is increasingly offering local jobs.

It may also provide some relief in a place where parking can be hard to come by, he said. Reliable local public transportation might also keep cars in multiple-car families in their driveways, he said.

Lora said his staff had been kicking around ideas about what to do with a 2,500-square-foot lot on Martha Place, near the junction of Monroe Street and Main Avenue. The city took possession of the property last month.

"I told them not to bring up ideas like additional housing," he said. The city has a number of projects underway to increase housing stock, and there is a dearth of parking.

Two weeks ago, the mayor and the city's business administrator had the idea of bike sharing.

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Operated by Lyft, Citi Bike provides more than 27,000 bikes and 1,700 separate docking stations spread across four of New York City's five boroughs, Governors Island and portions of New Jersey. Similar services are operated by Lyft in Chicago, California's Bay area, and Washington, D.C., to name a few.

Worldwide, there are more than 3,000 bike-sharing cities, all of which emanated from a program begun in the mid-1960s in car-clogged Amsterdam. The idea was to provide a way to relieve congestion problems by creating a fleet of bikes, which were at the time free for public use.

Passaic's proposal

Besides the lot on Martha Place, Business Administrator Rick Fernandez said, the city is looking at four or five sites including the soon-to-be-built parking deck off Passaic Street by City Hall, Third Ward Park, Pulaski Park and perhaps Bragg Park.

Each location could handle a score of bikes, and if it gets any traction as an idea, ideally the city bikes could expand to Passaic's immediate neighbors.

"I'd love to talk with Garfield and Clifton," Lora said, adding that given the number of new warehouses, logistical centers and other large-scale employers like Stew Leonard's, just over the Clifton border, coming to the region, the bikes and local bus service could make these jobs and local shopping more attainable to locals.

Fernandez cautioned that the concept remains in its earliest stages. The city has contacted systems such as Citi Bike as well as EZ Ride, a public-private partnership that promotes affordable and reliable transportation systems.

Lisa Lee, EZ Ride's director of bike and pedestrian programs, confirmed that she has been working with the city.

"I suggested a pilot program," she said, adding that if it proves economically viable it could be implemented at a relatively low cost. Once popular, docking stations, where bikes are wirelessly logged in and out of use, could be paid for by sponsors and vendors who reap a modest fee for each bike rental.

If it is successful, she said, she could see it expand to places like Clifton and Garfield. EZ Ride is also working with other entities in Passaic County, but steps such as creating bike lanes and promoting bike safety programs need to happen first.

Lora said he favors the Citi Bike model because other than the city providing sites for bikes to be parked and picked up, the maintenance, billing and other expenses are handled by the vendor.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Passaic explores bike-sharing system to help ease parking shortage