Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia demonstrates Long Beach's new bike-share system. All photos by Joe Linton/Streetsblog L.A.Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia demonstrates Long Beach's new bike-share system. All photos by Joe Linton/Streetsblog L.A.
At a kick-off event this morning, the city of Long Beach celebrated a soft launch of its new bike-share system, called Long Beach Bike Share. There are currently two stations in operation, with a dozen bikes. The system will fully publicly open at the Saturday March 19 Beach Streets open streets event.
The 4-mile March 19 Beach Streets will be the first open streets event in downtown Long Beach, extending eastward through Belmont Heights. The route [PDF] is primarily along Broadway, with spurs on Pine Avenue and Cherry Avenue. Beach Streets is looking for volunteers.
Long Beach Bike Share currently has two hubs installed: one at City Hall, the other on Third Street at the Promenade.
Long Beach Bike Share hub on Third Street at the PromenadeLong Beach Bike Share hub on 3rd Street at the Promenade
By March 19, the bike-share system will have 100 bicycles available; this will expand to 500 bikes at 50 stations this summer. The service area covers roughly the southern half of the city of Long Beach - from the L.A. River to the San Gabriel River, between the Pacific Ocean and Pacific Coast Highway/Stearns Street.
Screenshot map of Long Beach Bike Share. For expanded stations, see current website map.Screenshot map of Long Beach Bike Share. For expanded stations, see current website map.
The bike-share system is a smart-bike system, very similar to (using the same Cyclehop vendor as) Santa Monica's Breeze bike-share. The bikes are similar to Santa Monica, though the Long Beach bikes are powder blue. Both have 8 speeds.
Front basket on Long Beach's new bike-share bikesFront basket on Long Beach's new bike-share bikes
The system was funded by Metro, with a local match coming from the city. Long Beach and Cyclehop are still working to secure potential advertising sponsors.
New concepts for rapid bus service across the 626 have ironed out the questions of where an East-West route would run and where demonstrations could begin.
Metro and Caltrans eastbound 91 Freeway widening is especially alarming as it will increase tailpipe pollution in an already diesel-pollution-burdened community that is 69 percent Latino, and 28 percent Black