Visualize Vélib' Atlanta - Charrette Proposal

Summary

The Vélib' bicycle rental system introduced in Paris this summer has revolutionized thinking about how bicycles can be used to expand the transportation alternatives of the world's great cities and, consequently, not only reduce automobile traffic but also enhance the quality of life for both residents and visitors alike. The original program, consisting of 750 stations with more than 10,000 bicycles, will eventually double in size.

Could such a system be replicated in Atlanta? If so, what would our first steps be? This proposal attempts to answer this question.

Background

As the New York Times noted in "Finding Liberté on Two Wheels", exploring Paris "by Métro or by taxi is not like embracing it on a bicycle." The official motto of Vélib’ is, not surprisingly, "the city is more beautiful on a bike." (One might hasten to add that a city, Atlanta for example, is more beautiful with bikes in it.) But Vélib’ is not just an attempt to get more bicycles on the street, it is a focused and highly engineered effort to make bikes available for practical point-to-point travel, with the intention of helping to reduce car traffic in Paris 40% by the year 2020.

Although the name Vélib’ is formed from the French words meaning Bicycle Freedom, use of the bikes is not free. One must subscribe for a specified amount of time - a day, a week or a year - but there is no charge for any station-to-station trip of 30 minutes or less. Significantly, the cost increases exponentially the more time the bike is away from a station. The intention here is to keep as many bikes as possible in circulation. So Vélib’ is not about recreational cycling; it is about providing people an option for making those 1- or 2- or 3-mile trips that are too far to walk and not particularly well-suited for public transportation, and doing so in a way that is convenient and enjoyable.

This 10-minute YouTube video "Vélib’ Cycles in Paris" provides a nice introduction to the system, how it works, and how it was received in its first few days of operation. Note that the stations, sometimes referred to as hire points, are relatively compact, consisting of parking spots for 10 to 15 bikes. The small station footprint - and by implication cost - allows many of them to be built and thus supports more short-trip destinations.

ABC's Interest

The Atlanta Bicycle Campaign (ABC) believes that a project such as Vélib’ could play an important role in pursuing its goal to get "more people cycling, to more destinations, for more reasons, over more routes, more safely, in a more bicycle-friendly Atlanta." One attraction of this kind of system is that it provides residents, office workers, tourists, or students (to name a few) who do not own a bicycle or have one at hand a way to make short trips - perhaps to get together with friends at a restaurant, to attend meetings, or to visit popular Atlanta sights - without having to use a car. Bikes address gaps in the public transit system, as transit may prove inconvenient for the distance traveled.

For such people an easy-to-access rental bike network not only addresses the immediate practical need of getting from here to there, but also serves as a way to enhance physical and emotional well-being. Having these groups bicycling to nearby destinations would have the added benefits of relieving automobile congestion, improving air quality and helping to encourage an image of Atlanta as a more liveable city, where getting around by bike is easy and fun.

Getting Started Here - A Charrette

As attractive a concept as the Vélib’ is, to replicate such a system in Atlanta would be an ambitious undertaking in every respect. So where to begin?

One way to start is with a community-based brainstorming session known commonly within the design community as a charrette. This would be an opportunity to assemble potential Vélib’ Atlanta stakeholders - cyclists (and aspiring cyclists), urban and transportation planners and designers, faculty, staff and students from universities, business people, representatives of the hospitality industry, to name just a few - and have them, with the facilitation of volunteers experienced in the charrette process, consider what form a bicycle rental system might take here. Their challenge would be to come up with preliminary design solutions to such questions as:

• what area or areas would the system serve?
  
• where would stations be placed and what would they look like?
  
• how might such a system relate to and integrate with MARTA and the Beltline?
  
• what bicycle choice or choice would be suitable for Atlanta's terrain and climate?
  
• how would helmets and other safety and support gear be made available?
  
• what support facilities would be needed?
  

Of course, the actual list of questions to answer would be extended and refined as part of the charrette itself.

One way to enhance the effectiveness - not to mention the draw - of such an event would be to enlist the participation of those who helped develop and implement the Paris system. Local representatives of the French government, such as the French Consulate, or French cultural organizations, such as Alliance Française Atlanta, might be helpful in tapping such resources. Now is a particularly propitious time for such a partnership, since the ongoing exhibition of Louvre art works at the High Museum has helped to foster a palpable sense of connection between Atlanta and Paris. It's hard to imagine a better start to a charrette than a presentation of the history and design of the Paris Vélib’ from one or more people who have been involved in it first hand.

It is too early to state what the outcome of a Visualize Vélib’ Atlanta Charrette would be exactly, but it would likely include maps and drawings as well as less technical documents expressing the hopes and dreams of the participants. The most important product will be to have mobilized a constituency for the project who are committed to taking the next step in transforming the vision of Vélib’ Atlanta into a reality.

Participants

ABC has entered into preliminary discussions with Veolia Transportation (Peter Bruno) and EDAW (Louis Merlin) to formulate an initial plan for a Visualize Vélib’ Atlanta Charrette to be held sometime in early Spring 2008. Potential participants include, but are not limited to,

The Atlanta Bicycle Campaign

The City of Atlanta (Dept of Planning, Public Works, Mayor's Office, Comprehensive Transportation Plan Team)
The City of Decatur
Fulton County

Georgia State University
Georgia Tech University
Emory University
The Atlanta University Center

MARTA
Atlanta Beltline Inc and the Beltline Partnership
The Beltline Network
Atlanta Regional Commission, Bike/Ped cCoordinator
Georgia DOT, Bike/Ped Coordinator
Transit Planning Board, Director

Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA)
Midtown Alliance/Midtown Transportation Solutions
Buckhead Area Transportation Management Association (BATMA)
Atlantic Station Access + Mobility Plan (ASAP+)
The Transportation Management Association Network
Georgia Institute of Transportation Engineers
FlexCar
Center for Quality Growth
The Clean Air Campaign

The Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau
Central Atlanta Progress
Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Georgia Bikes
Southern Bicycling League
Faster Moustache
Sopo Bicycle Co-op
Metro Atlanta Cycling Club
The North Georgia Bicycle Dealers Association

Richard Wittschiebe Hand Design
Livable Communities Coalition
Southface Energy Institute

French Consulate
Alliance Française Atlanta
Latin American Association