Public comment open for bicycle and scooter expansion program

Cuyahoga County, in coordination with the city of Cleveland, Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, Bike Cleveland and a number of partner cities throughout the region, is looking to expand the existing network of public bicycles and scooters to reach a broader community of users across Cleveland and Cuyahoga County.

As part of this effort, the county and partners have identified locations for bike and scooter “rebalancing hubs” (or parking locations) throughout the county. These hubs will host different types of equipment to organize scooters and e-bikes when not in use. The goal is to improve accessibility and increase public awareness of how to utilize the system.

The partners are seeking public comment and feedback from the community.

“We’ve seen success with this initiative and look forward to expanding services to more of our inner-ring suburbs,” said County Executive Armond Budish. “This public comment period will help ensure that we’re providing this unique form of transportation in places where residents will actually take advantage of it.”

Residents can utilize an interactive map, created by the county’s GIS department, to find locations of interest to them, click on a location to access additional information, then click “provide feedback” to share feedback on a specific location. Residents can also provide overall feedback directly on the website.

“Over a million rides have been made on scooters and e-bikes in Cuyahoga County over the past three years,” said County Sustainability Director Mike Foley. “For the most part, things have gone remarkably smoothly, but there is no doubt it can get a bit messy. Putting together this network of hubs and infrastructure will assist with organizing the system and make it easy for users to predict where scooters and e-bikes will be and where to return them to keep things as orderly as possible.”

Public comment is open until Friday, Sept. 30. The Ohio Department of Transportation will then review the locations and recommendations. Following the review, Cuyahoga County will conduct a public bid process for purchase and installation of recommended improvements in 2023.

For more information on the bike and scooter expansion program and explore the locations map, visit the department of sustainability website. ∞