Bike Sharing Is Finally Here, Kind Of
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
Bike Sharing Is Finally Here, Kind Of
Ronnie Polaneczky, Daily News Columnist
It's a bummer that Philly has yet to launch a bike-sharing program, which looked promising two years ago but today, well, not so much.
So it'll be fun to see a way-scaled-down program in action starting Wednesday, when Dranoff Properties launches its own bike-sharing program, which will allow residents of Dranoff buildings the free use of a fleet of bikes.
This is from the press release:
"The complimentary amenity provides Dranoff residents with the opportunity to reserve a bicycle to use as a green and healthy means of transportation. Dranoff Properties is committed to helping residents maintain a sustainable lifestyle and this initiative is another offering to support a green standard of living.
"To announce the launch of the bike share program, Dranoff Properties is hosting a celebratory event at its 777 South Broad location on Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at 11:45 a.m. A press conference will be held followed by a bike parade up South Broad Street ending at the City Hall Apron. Each parade participant riding a Dranoff bike is representing one of the major attractions available on the Avenue of the Arts, as well as those organizations that protect the street and invest in its future."
“All of our properties are located in urban areas, making the bike share program the perfect amenity to offer our residents so they can easily get to where they need to go in a fun, healthy and efficient way,” said Carl Dranoff, President of Dranoff Properties. “Many say that when exploring a city you should do so either by foot or on bike, and I believe the bike share program will widen the lens for our residents and showcase all of the entertainment, dining, education and energy that’s centrally located on the famed Avenue of the Arts.”
"Each Dranoff rental property will offer residents three brightly-colored bikes that can be reserved in four-hour increments. Each bike was built with a basket for transporting goods and a bike bell to alert pedestrians and vehicles. Every resident that reserves a bike will receive a bike helmet, Philadelphia bike map and a bike lock for their excursion.
Carl Dranoff adds, “It’s our hope that the Dranoff Bike Share program will encourage other residential buildings to support bicycle sharing, and provide more people with access to this green, healthy and cost efficient method of transportation.”
Why Not Bring Real Bike Sharing to Philadelphia? Bike sharing that everyone can use! Write Mayor Nutter. Ask him, Why Not Philadelphia!
write him at http://www.bikesharephilly.org/takeaction— Bike Share Philly- DC has an awesome bike sharing program. We are Philly, we can do better!— Earl J
- For the sake of the bikers, pedestrians AND drivers, WE NEED CLEAR RULES. Just sit at the corner of 5th and Market and hold your breath, especially when visitors try to figure out why everyone is coming at them, all at the same time. It's a mess.— PhillyS1980
- It must be the city water that makes you people so goofy. The only sharing program Philly has is a gun sharing based on the murder rate. Why not concentrate on something more important than bikes?— jimmymack
When my phone rings here at the Daily News, nine times out of ten the caller begins the conversation with, “Yeah, so what happened was…”.
Because this is Philly, the caller doesn’t say, “My name is Bob” – or Mary – “and I wonder if I could have a moment of your time?” Philadelphians are too direct for that. They just say, “Yeah, so what happened was…”, and then tumble into a tale they think oughta be shared with a wider audience. I love getting these calls (even the ones where it becomes clear, after 30 seconds, where the caller sowed the seeds of his own misery), because they give me chance to connect with fellow citizens in a way that no other job allows. Well, okay, no other job for which I’m remotely qualified.
That’s why my blog is titled “So What Happened Was…”. To me, it’s the quintessentially Philly way of saying, “Once upon a time.” When I hear it, I know a good story is coming. And I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Ronnie Polaneczky has been an award-winning columnist for The Philadelphia Daily News since 1999, offering a front-steps perspective on every aspect of city life, from the sublime to the stupid. In her past life, she was the editor-in-chief of Atlantic City Magazine, associate editor at Philadelphia Magazine and a fulltime freelancer published in Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, Reader's Digest, Men's Health, MarieClaire and others. She lives with her husband, daughter and various pets in the city's Fairmount section, where she dreams of one day singing The National Anthem at an Eagles game. In addition to her column and blog, you can enjoy Ronnie's musings in podcast form here.
Read more from Ronnie Polaneczky at Earth to Philly, the Daily News blog on anything and everything "Green
Reach Ronnie at polaner@phillynews.com.
