session 47_bike sharing in chattanooga
TRANSCRIPT
Implementing and Promoting Bicycle Sharing in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Philip Pugliese, MBAOutdoor Chattanooga
Kassi M. Webster, MPHCDC/Outdoor Chattanooga
Christopher J. L. Cunningham, PhDThe University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the author(s)
and do not necessarily represent the official
position of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
Why bike sharing? Early “bike sharing” in Chattanooga Chattanooga’s bike share process Promotion of bicycling at multiple levels Bicycling focus group results Next steps
Overview
Attendees should be able to1) Identify opportunities and strategic
partnerships for bicycle sharing
2) Identify a process for implementing bicycle sharing
3) Identify a funding mechanism for purchasing a bicycle-sharing system
4) Use the socio-ecological model to identify strategies at multiple levels to increase bicycling
Learning Objectives
Bringing Bicycle Sharing to Chattanooga
Vision
Create opportunities for a true multi-modal continuum
of transportation options
Mobile Bicycle Fleet
Fixed SystemOptions
PurposeProvide a public bicycle share
system within urban boundaries to improve air quality, public health
and quality of life
Current InvestmentLyndhurst Foundation
$100,000
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
Public Health Prevention Specialist
Current InvestmentLyndhurst Foundation
$100,000
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention$200,000
Current InvestmentLyndhurst Foundation
$100,000
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention$200,000
U.S. Department of Energy$281,000
Current InvestmentLyndhurst Foundation
$100,000
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention$200,000
U.S. Department of Energy$281,000
Federal Transit Administration$2,075,000
Socio-ecological Approach to Bicycling Programs
Health programs should impact multiple levels of influence
Socio-ecological Model
Strategies that increase knowledge and skills
Individual Level
Social networks to support and promote bicycling
Interpersonal Level
Bike2Lunch appears to be successful in:
◦engaging beginners into bicycling using the group ride approach
◦ increasing consideration of bicycling for transportation
◦ increasing knowledge of safe bicycling in traffic from before to after participation
Bike2 Lunch Survey Results
Top choice of what would make it easier to bike during the work day…
Bike Access
Bike2Lunch Survey Results
Promote and encourage bicycling among worksites and the University
Organizational Level
On a broader level, increase community awareness, cohesion and support of bicycling
Community Level
Local and state policies
Societal/ Public Policy Level
Bicycling Focus Group & Survey Summary:
Preliminary Results
Get a pulse on community’s view of bicycling for recreation and transportation – what are the priorities for Chattanoogans?
Use findings to:◦Guide bike share development and marketing
◦Support bicycling related policies
◦ Increase awareness among partners
◦Support and design other programs
Why Focus Groups?
Downtown employers
Downtown dwellers
University Students
Recruitment Strategy
Nine focus groups between March and July
5 with downtown workers 3 with downtown dwellers 1 with UTC students
◦Total = 56 participants
◦Range of 2-9 per session
Focus Group Participants
Survey Demographics (54 surveys)◦Race/ Ethnicity
White = 39 (80%) African American = 9 (18.3%) Hispanic = 1 (2%)
◦Majority female (63%)
◦Average (M) age = 35.07 years SD = 12.00 years Range 20 – 60 years
Survey Demographics
Participants ride a bike 7.6 rides/month, on average ◦ 26% ride zero times/month
◦ 50% ride ≤ 5 times/month
6.7% would not consider cycling for transportation at all
Participant Characteristics
Coded according to themes (in Excel)
Focus Group Analysis
Results: How do you integrate physical activity into life?
Walk20%
Bike20%
Gym14%
Run11%
Other35%
Results: What do you perceive to be the main benefits of bicycling?
Exercise/ health28%
Transport22%
Social11%
Community9%
Other30%
“You miss so much of your community. In your
car you’ve got the music on, you’re not paying
attention to what’s going on around you. You
don’t see the new business that opened up or
the new construction that’s happening. …You’ll
drive right by it and end up at work and
somebody’s talking about how they heard on
the news that they’re building such and such
over in downtown and you’re like I just drove by
there and didn’t see that. You don’t recognize
it. But on your bike, I guarantee you’ll
recognize it.”
Related Comments
Results: Are there barriers to you using a bicycle during the workday?
Traffic/ safety13%
Bike racks/storage
10%
Shower access/hygiene
17%
Time11%
Confidence8%
Weather7%
Carrying items7%
Infrastructure7%
Other20%
“In terms of commuting, that puts the bikes on the road at the peak of traffic when people are in a hurry.”
“If you knew it in advance, you could dress appropriately. But if it’s just on a whim, I don’t know that one of us office workers could jump on a bike.”
Related Comments
Results: What are situations in Chattanooga, in which you would consider using your bicycle instead of your car/truck?
Errands16%
Commute11%
Go to/ ride in park10%
Would not9%Food
7%
Festival7%
Other40%
“I’m not going to carry my personal bike in here to do that [errands], but I think what ya’ll are talking about doing is having them down there and you can go grab one. I would be more likely to do that if it were that convenient.”
Related Comments
“… I’d love to get a backpack or a basket or something and ride down there to run a few errands. … It’s just a couple of miles and would be so good for me and I could leave the car in the garage. But that section of Brainerd Road is just too dangerous. They’re driving too fast or texting and eating. I’d get whacked out the first day. Ya’ll would read about me on the Chattanoogan.com.”
Related Comments
Results: What are your perceptions about people who bicycle to/from work or errands?
Generally positive
22%
They don't know/ follow
rules18%
Fear for their safety
9%
Want them to be visible
8%
Dedicated8%
Sweaty6%
Other29%
“My favorite commuter wears a giant Elmer Fudd hat and has all this hair and he drives by and I just think “you’re awesome.”
“It’s not so much that they are on a bike, but how they are using the bike that colors our perception.”
Related Comments
Results: How do you feel when you’re driving and encounter a cyclist?
Give room29%
They need to follow rules of
the road19%
Understand because of own cycling experience
15%
Irritated when it backs up
traffic13%
They need to be visible
11%
Other13%
“…before I commuted some, you get
behind them and it’s like I’m in a hurry and
I have that moment of ah, when am I going
to get past them. After being in the shoes
of the cyclist who’s riding whether it’s for
recreation or commuting or whatever, I try
to have a lot more patience because I
understand what it’s like to be in those
shoes and that’s great that they’re out
there doing it as opposed to sitting
around.”
Related Comments
“Even being a cyclist, when you’re driving your car and your on a lane where you can’t pass, it is frustrating and I completely understand that. Great, you’re out driving your car or riding your bike, but in certain situations it sucks.”
“Sometimes you’ll see those people on bikes and they’re in the middle of the street like they’re a car.”
Related Comments
Results: What makes it difficult for you to ride a bicycle in this area for work?
Traffic safety17%
Lack of bicycling
infrastructure17%
Road conditions13%Bicyclists not
following rules7%
Hills7%
Other39%
“…one thing that hinders advancement and people getting used to bikes, I usually see people when they first start out riding that they’re so terrified of riding on the road that they ride strictly on the sidewalk. And that’s horrible and it ruins it for everybody because it gives cars the perception that people are supposed to be on the sidewalks.”
Related Comments
“Unless we have people who bike with people who don’t bike, you’ve got to get those two groups together. There’s the etiquette and things that people don’t understand.”
Related Comments
Results: What makes it difficult to ride a bicycle in this area for recreation?
Results: What would make it easier for you to ride a bicycle in this area?
Bike lanes13%
Bicyclist education
13%
Motorist education
7%
Public awareness
7%
Bike routes7%
Traffic calming6%
Separate bike facilities
6%
Access to bikes3%
Other38%
“There are a lot of unanswered questions for me anyway, I haven’t studied the bike laws or the rules, but there are a lot of unanswered questions about what I’m allowed to do and what I’m not allowed to do.”
Related Comments
“I don’t need some place where I put my bike rack on my car and drive my bike to some place to ride my bike, I just want to ride my bike. But whether it’s true or not, I have the general sense that that’s the attitude, if you want to ride your bike, you go away to do it.”
Related Comments
Survey Results
Survey Results
Overall perceived safety in Chattanooga◦Scale of 1-5 (1=Not at all, 5 = Completely)
◦M = 2.72, between Somewhat and Moderately in overall perception of safety SD= 0.71
Survey Results
Infrastructure
Focus Group Themes
www.pedbikeimages.org photo by Dan Burden
www.pedbikeimages.org
Education & Enforcement
Focus Group Themes
www.bikepedimages.org by Margaret Gibbs
Downtown, North Chattanooga are most
bike friendly
Focus Group Themes
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/8817172
Shower/ Hygiene issues
Focus Group Themes
Bicycling for recreation seems to be
more accepted by general population
Focus Group Themes
Photo from www.americantrails.org
Bicycle commuters are “awesome”
Focus Group Themes
Increase and maintain bicycling infrastructure
Preliminary Recommendations
Create public awareness campaign on the rules of the road
Preliminary Recommendations
http://www.knoxtrans.org/plans/bikeprog.htm
Convene worksite wellness coordinators to discuss how they can promote/ enable bike share use
Preliminary Recommendations
Policy recommendations◦Complete Streets
◦Enforcement of 3-foot law
◦Localized policies to support Transit Parks and recreation
Preliminary Recommendations
Use focus group results Installation of bike share system
downtown Member recruitment and
encouragement Evaluation of usage and tactics
Next Steps
