The results are in: Bike Share in AVL

Infrastructure, tourism + feasibility: Can we support a bike share program?

Last month, we asked you whether you would support a bike share program in Asheville as the city starts studying the possibility of a bike share program, including feasibility + bike-lanes (a 7-month, $50,000 project).

This is part of a push to improve + expand multimodal transportation in Asheville outlined in Council’s Vision 2036, a 20-year strategic operating plan that includes goals for equity + inclusion, transportation, affordable housing + a clean local environment.

But, we wanted to hear from you about what you think a bike share means in Asheville, and if you want to see a bike share, whether you’d want station-based (permanent collection + drop off locations) or freestanding bikes (unlocked via an app), and if they happen, where. Almost 150 readers shared their opinions with us.

🚲By the numbers –

• 70.3%. In favor of a bike share coming to Asheville.
• 50%. Prefer a station-based program.
• 31.3%. Would use a bike share program 2 - 4x a month. 30.%. Would use once a month or less. 27.8%. Would never use a bike share program.
• 58.5%. Listed infrastructure issues as their greatest concern with a bike share program.

🗣 Here is what you said –

👍Yea

“I think it makes sense both for tourism and perhaps as a way to supplement our public transportation”

“People could park their cars and use a bike to run errands instead of driving from place to place. With the proper infrastructure it would alleviate some of the traffic downtown.”

“It’s another alternative to wasteful automobile use. It would improve air quality and promote exercise. It’s a hassle-free way to get around town.”

👎Nay

“Safety, congestion on Asheville ‘s already unsafe roads...tourists are distracted....drivers get confused as they try to navigate and pedestrians ignore lights and oncoming traffic...more bikes will make things worse!”

“‘Putting the cart before the horse’ — there’s no safe place to ride bikes here. If there were, I offer 100% support”

“It’s only for tourism IMO. Those who live here and want a bike already have one.”

📊We broke down all the data into graphs + published all of the 137 responses here.⬇

Here’s what we found out from our pool of 144 respondents:

Of people who supported bike share, around 50% of people favored a docked or station-based bike share, with 12.5% supporting free standing and 13.9% having no preference.

About half of you would use bike share 4 times or less per month, and around 10% would use it 5 or more times per month.

What would you use it for? Two answers rose to the top: Leisure and exercise (66.4%) + errands (38.6%).

Infrastructure issues (like a lack of bike lanes) + rider safety ranked highest of your concerns (at 58.5% and 20.4%, respectively). Other concerns about bike share included damage to bikes and stations (2.8%) + driver safety (2.1%).

Where would you want to see stations?

• Downtown (77.8%)
• River Arts District (64.3%)
• West Asheville (51.6%)
• South Slope (34.1%)
• Biltmore Village (31%)
• North Asheville (24.6%)
• South Asheville (15.9%)
• East Asheville/Tunnel Rd. (8.7%)

If you’re not interested in a bike share program, why not? (47)

• Asheville is utterly unsafe for cyclists. Give remedial driving lessons to every resident, then maybe I’d support it. Oh, and where precisely would you fit a bike lane? I can’t think of any part of town that wouldn’t require extensive road widening to make this even remotely feasible. This is a non-starter.
• Safety, congestion on Asheville ‘s already unsafe roads...tourists are distracted....drivers get confused as they try to navigate and pedestrians ignore lights and oncoming traffic...more bikes will make things worse!
• 1. Unworkable given the topography. 2. No appropriate infrastructure or room to create it along most of the critical corridors and routes (Merrimon? Broadway?). 3. Too many other unmet and unfunded needs which should take priority. 4. This would be a wasteful “feel good” policy fated to ultimately disappoint if not utterly fail. 5. Comparisons with other cities that are reasonably flat are foolish. 6. The transient nature of the population, whether one is talking about tourists or homeless “travelers,” suggests the likelihood of high rates of misuse, theft, and/or vandalism. Problems which have often plagued other programs. 7. The City’s so called “survey” was an intellectually dishonest push-poll, which many pointed out was worded in a way to assure positive responses.
• Roads are not wide enough to handle it and there are too many people on the streets and sidewalks. Unsafe.
• I moved here from a city that had one and despite local laws, tourists rode them on sidewalks, endangering pedestrians.
• Asheville claims it does not have resources for fixing its sidewalks and providing enough public restaurants. Also, it simply does not have the infrastructure for bike share.
• I’ve seen it in another city. Bikes are laying on the sidewalks and dumped on the side of the road.
• Because people come to Asheville to drink.. u want to see drunk people getting hurt all day and night? They are vomiting in RIDESHARE cars now imagine puke all over town? No now we would have to make room all over downtown for firetrucks and ambulances for ALL the injuried. I love a bike program like this BUT not for Asheville. There will be many people drunk and hurt..
• “Putting the cart before the horse” — there’s no safe place to ride bikes here. If there were, I offer 100% support
• I like bike share programs but the sort of heavy bikes with not that many gears that are usually used for them are not the sort of bikes that you need to get up and down Asheville’s hills, unless you are young and fit and committed to cycling, in which case you probably have your own bike anyway. I ride a bike and it is often just not safe with rude drivers. I don’t think this is really the time for one in Asheville, although theoretically I think that bike share programs are a good thing.
• I do have concerns about rider safety. So many tourists who don’t know where they’re going in cars could be a hazard.
• No bike lanes at all in Asheville and surrounding areas which can cause danger to bikers and impeding traffic which is already getting worse and worse. The sidewalks we do have are not extensive enough.
• Only works initially. A waste of tax payer money. Don’t do it
• while I LOVE bike shares in other cities, Asheville already has a problem with tourist walking/driving traffic, too much alcohol, busy roads.... plus the roads are not safe for people who are not used to biking (most bike share programs involve a lot of tourists) and the terrain is often hilly, not easy. Since we do not have a good subway or bus system, there would need to be adequate parking at the places where there are bike stations. I fear a bike share program would be a major headache for everyone unless there is first a network of designated and safe bike lanes. Once the greenway is finished, for example, that might be a good place for bike share stations but I do not feel it makes sense for places like downtown.
• First of all, I don’t think it is a good idea at all, unless there are massive changes are made, regarding obvious bike lanes, etc. I stopped riding my bike after moving here, because of safety issues...people drive like maniacs, with very little regard for the safety of bicyclists. And as a long time massage therapist, you’d be shocked to know how many people have been hurt by drivers, while riding their bikes in this town. Many suffering through long-term recovery, and at their own expense. If safety were the first priority, I would be 100% for bike sharing! I would even donate the 10 bicycles that sit dusty, in my basement!
• Infrastructure issues & Rider safety that comes along with it. Bikes dumped everywhere. Tourists creating more havoc in a city they do not know
• Asheville has streets where the lanes have been widened right up to the curbs. no room to avoid hitting curbs, or cars. Drivers are not looking for bikers, but large things, cars or trucks, when they drive.
• I am a cyclist and if you do not know what you are doing it is dangerous to bikers and drivers of cars. The other day I saw someone riding in the wrong direction on the road and then another day riding side by side. Allow individually owned rental bike programs but do not supplement with public money. As a city tax payer, I do not want my taxes going to this. We need a lot more infrastructure than tourist attractions with tax payers money.
• rider safety, not enough space for bike storage, too hilly
• We don’t have the roads for bikes. Address that first, which I suspect would cost a fortune. I don’t want that coming out of my taxes! Our roads are far too dangerous for bikers.
• The major flaw in most bike programs is that bikes and cars, trucks, buses are not compatible using the same roads. normal traffic would be much smoother and safer if bikes had their own paths that don’t require them to navigate around much bigger and more powerful vehicles.
• We’re just not bikable! No shoulders on most roads, let alone bike lanes.
• It’s an expensive idea that only a few will use. If Asheville needs bike rentals a business would have created it. It’s a nice idea, but not practical for Asheville. No bike lanes, lots of hills. The people who come here to ride bikes, bring their own. Leave the city out of it.
• I’ve seen these programs in several cities and they all look the same. Bikes left in the most random places (ditches, bushes, dumpsters, etc.). Bikes abused and damaged by people who don’t care about them. The bikes become brightly colored litter in a very short time.
• We need an infrastructure that supports bikes before we put them on the road. Greenways with bike paths are the way to go presently. Secondly, many areas of Asheville are too hilly for bikes.
• Asheville roads are terrible for cyclists.
• Too narrow of roads. Bikes would be left everywhere
• Our town is not an ideal location....Boulder, CO is because they planned it in advance and built roads and trails accordingly and their terrain is flat. Boulder in town roads were wide to begin with and even have a lane for parked cars....that’s how wide they are. Our roads are narrow, winding, curvy and eventually run into hills and mountains. Biltmore Ave, Charlotte and Merrimon Ave are entirely too narrow to accommodate bikes as is Riverside Dr. It is very difficult to anticipate bikers around curves and in dappled sunlight it makes it worse. What is the median age of Asheville residents? And those who bike? Should we not cater to the majority resident? Asheville is already HIP! Thanks for the sound off ! Pat Barratt
• I am interested but concerned about the lack of cycling infrastructure (bike lanes, greenways, etc.) to get from place to place. Without proper bike lanes, etc. it will be difficult and dangerous to cycle outside of areas that have this infrastructure. We need more bike lanes, etc before we get Bike Share…
• It’s only for tourism IMO. Those who live here and want a bike already have one. I live a mile north of downtown and I rarely use my bike because I don’t feel safe. The roads are full of potholes and are very narrow. I just think we should fix our current problems before diving into another project.
• Asheville is not bike friendly. With no bike lanes and increased traffic everywhere in the area it is unsafe.
• Higher rate of accidents, lawsuits. There just isn’t any room for this on the roads and people are not skilled enough to take this on, traffic will be an even greater nightmare. Overall bad idea.
• The city has been incredibly slow at repairing damaged roads, so why would I ever think the city is ready to widen roads and add bike lanes or street lights? We do NOT have the infrastructure.
• So I AM interested in bikes and those electric scooters that they have in Charlotte BUT I don’t think it is a good idea in AVL today. We’re hilly, don’t have bike lanes and have a multitude of drunk tourists... That is a dangerous combo! In addition, the motorists here are bezerk. I am from Chicago and am accustomed to city driving, but after a year here I still have anxiety driving. I rarely see people use turn signals!
• I don’t believe we have enough room on our streets or sidewalks for many bikes. It seems dangerous to me already except on selected roads (Kimberly Avenue). I fear for how both bike riders and car drivers would obey the safe rules of traffic. It seems we already have problems with bikers going anywhere they please and with drivers getting irked at the way the bikers drive. I would love for us to have enough bikeways to bike fast and safely. I wouldn’t use a bike share because I would want to ride my own bike.
• Bikes don’t belong on streets or roads.
• Narrow roads, no bike lanes, lack of biker education around use and safety in traffic, amateur bikers riding/pushing bikes on Asheville’s often hilly terrain
• Danger to users of the bikes. Danger to pedestrians. Users of bike shares are often unfamiliar with the terrain, drive on the sidewalks and are distracted. Traffic in downtown Asheville is already difficult and this would complicate it. The only people this would benefit would be the local orthopedic and neurosurgeons.
• The hills are killer. Tourists would give up & abandon bikes anywhere. 2. Vandalism & theft = $ lost by the program. 3. Avl streets are not bike friendly. 4. I’d rather see a trolley system.
• I am fortunate enough to own a bike, however, I hardly ride, especially on weekend nights for fear of drunk drivers. If a bike share is going to be installed, Asheville needs to first address the unsafe environment for bikers in the city
• It’s not safe in downtown: no bike lanes, streets to narrow, roads too crowded
• Currently there is not a good infrastructure in place, ie; debris-free & plentiful, citywide lanes. If a local is hesitant to ride in danger, what makes you think a visitor would want to? And bad news travels fast. Let’s get that infrastructure in place first, then the local entrepreneurs can provide the bikes and perhaps make a good living combined. One last point. Asheville’s topography can be challenging for locals. What about the flatlanders that have a brew or two and decide to take a stroll?
  Boy will they be in for a surprise!
• The city is not a bike friendly city, nor state.
• I’d prefer to see a bike share program implemented only after a significant number of infrastructure improvements are completed to accommodate cyclers.
• There is no infrastructure! No bike lines, no large enough sidewalks to accomodate pedestrians and bikes. Think of a bunch of drunk folks on bikes anywhere in the city limit.
• The addition of dozens/hundreds of tourists on bicycles seems like a horrible idea in a city with little/no bike infrastructure . It’s bad enough cycling as a resident with the influx of distracted drivers and pedestrians, I cannot imagine adding another mode of transportation for distracted and oblivious tourists. Get separated bike lanes and real bike friendly infrastructure and then it’s an option. We haven’t even talked about how many tourists are going to rent these bikes and then be physically unable to make it up the hills. It’s just a huge safety hazard to allow this.

If you are interested in a bike share program, why? (88)

• I have traveled to cities like Nashville and Miami that have station based bike shares. The only way that bike shares do work is station based so you can commute from one part of the city to another part and leave the bike and rent a bike on your way back. The only concern with Asheville is bike lanes and paths as we won’t have enough. The other challenge of the station based bike share in Asheville is the bikes for bike share programs are very heavy and single speed, which may not work very well with all of our hills. Nashville, Charleston and Miami are relatively flat so riding a heavy single speed bike isn’t so bad. If there are electric pedal assist options that charge in the station when not in use , that would be ideal. I can’t imagine picking a bike up in Biltmore Village and trying to pedal one of those heavy bad boys up Biltmore Ave past the hospital, that would be terrible. I also think for the program to work, working with local businesses, such as the Biltmore, New Belgium, the s Tourist Baseball, Hotels and others to sponsor a station close to their facility would allow the program to work and scale better. If they City does it alone then there won’t be as many stations, how cool would it be to pick a bike up downtown and pedal to new Belgium and leave it, have a beer and hangout and pick another on me up and ride to the river arts district for lunch and maybe the next day ride one from downtown to the Biltmore and drop it off while visiting the house and ground or have multiple on the grounds so you can ride to the house and then ride from the house to antler village and then back to down. But all of that would not work without electric pedal assist bikes.
• The fewer cars on the road, the better! Riding is faster than walking, and it would be another transportation option for people with no car.
• I think it makes sense both for tourism and perhaps as a way to supplement our public transportation
• More balanced and flexible transport in AVL
• People could park their cars and use a bike to run errands instead of driving from place to place. With the proper infrastructure it would alleviate some of the traffic downtown.
• Great way to easily move around downtown and to see more of the area
• Alternative vehicle parking
• Makes sense instead of driving
• A bike is an amazing way to access many part sites of a city, while allowing the rider to experience the city in a different way. If AVL is an active city- this is a must. We stand for experiencing the outdoors and this is a metro offering to do that, while alleviating some of the traffic slightly.
• parking is a hassle, tourist traffic a nightmare
• It’s another alternative to wasteful automobile use. It would improve air quality and promote exercise. It’s a hassle-free way to get around town.
• I want to live in a bike friendly town.
• Good for city
• I live in Waynesville and would live to drive in to the city and park my car for the day and use a bike to get around
• Green, exercise, fun
• Easy awesome transport!
• bikes are proven to be economically stimulating for urban economies
• I want to see Asheville become more bike accessible so that was can decrease car congestion and improve our community health and wellness.
• Creating a bike share program may help with traffic and take cars off the road.
• Love them. Great way to ride the city and become a more bike- aware culture.
• I need exercise. It is fun and convenient way to get from a to b. Faster than walking. Bus only runs once a hour. Cycling is fun and healthy and practical.
• It helps provide more options for people to move about the city, reduces emissions and encourages physical fitness.
• Downtown should consider closing streets to car traffic, making a pedestrian paradise with bikes only allowed.
• offer options to locals and tourists
• I love cycling, but I debated about whether to say I am for or against bike share. The reality is that I don’t feel particularly safe riding my bike in Asheville. If I felt safer, I would ride my bike everywhere. I lived in Tucson for a while, and I commuted every day by bicycle and loved it. I hope that if there are more programs out there to get people on bikes, the city might make moves to put in more bike lanes and make faster progress on getting the greenways built. Hurry up, greenways! We need you!
• I think a bike share program would encourage more people to ride bikes and make drivers more accepting of people on bikes.
• I am a life long cyclist and recognize the issue we have with traffic in asheville. We should do everything to lessen traffic
• Fun!
• convenience, accessibility, reducing carbon footprint
• I used the bike share in charlotte and it was very enjoyable and actually better than other means of transportation also, I live in an apartment with 56 stairs so I cannot have my own bike.
• Automobile traffic is not going to decrease and automobile infrastructure will not be able to keep up with growth. Quality of life here will decline as automobile commute times dramatically increase. More alternative transportation options will help maintain the relatively high quality of life currently available.
• We need to do something about the traffic in this town. A bike share program would hopefully lead to more bike lanes and maybe some restriction on cars in the center of downtown. It’s a start. If it gets people thinking of alternative transportation
• Fun way to enjoy the city.
• Then there would be safe areas to ride them. I’ve almost had 2 head on collisions by cars passing bikes on curvy, narrow mountain roads.
• Biking is fun and good exercise!
• Easy
• Makes for another option for locals and tourists to get around ... but they should have Electric assist due to our inclines!
• I think it’s the surest way we can fight for more bike lanes.
• Placing the bicycle as a transit option alongside the ART system would legitimize it and should prompt skeptics to give it a try
• Great Idea. Convenient. Easier to get around, healthy, takes cars off roads
• This can fill in the gaps of our current very lacking public transport system.
• great alternative to cars and congestion/parking
• We have used them in other cities with great success, but most of them do have better bike lanes we have in Asheville. As an avid road rider, it would be far better to spend the money to get those built first
• Asheville is a growing small city and it seems local government wants to continue the growth. As we know, all cities have easy access to public transportation and that is an area where Asheville needs to improve upon. A bike share program would advance us in that area. In addition, bike share would appeal to tourists, who play a huge role in our local economy.
• I would love to have easy and fast ways to park my car and still get around town.
• Fun! And, nother way to see Asheville or get around in a town that doesn’t have enough parking to be moving your car once you find a spot.
• It would be a great, environmentally friendly way to connect the city. My only concern is that it’s terrifying to ride a bike in AVL currently because of the lack of safe bike lanes and wild drivers that don’t care about bikers. I would hope that more bike lanes would go in, and that the lanes would be safer than a lane right next to a car lane with cars going 35mph+
• Reduction in car traffic, improvement in air quality, additional tourist interest (drawing more dollars for local business), increase in available transportation for low income individuals (depending upon pricing system), increase in available methods of exercise…
• It makes sense
• Encourage exercise and convenience
• Because I think it just fits in with what Asheville is about! Being green, being outdoors, exercising, and giving people another alternative to getting to and from our great local businesses!
• I love the convenience of a freestander bike program where youd don’t have to worry about getting back to a station at a particular time on the account of your dollar. It makes the city more accessible, since parking it so challenging, a bike would bridge the gap!
• Offering better transportation options for all the tourists that being in carloads of people
• I would like to ride a bike but do not want to own one
• Less vehicle traffic BUT THE CITY NEEDS BIKE LANES FIRST!!!!!!
• It’s not just for the tourists. It is a great way for locals and tourists to enjoy Asheville without having to walk everywhere. Also, it promotes exercise. I am only in favor of this program if more sidewalks/bike lanes will be built. Maintenance by the city will be very important as well. Wear and tear/lost or stolen bikes will be almost inevitable.
• The bikes need to be electric/pedal assist. Most visitors cannot make it up the hills in downtown Asheville
• It’s a great idea but we need more bike lanes for it to be successful. I dread hearing of the first tourist fatality!
• Get way tot get around and reduce the amount of cars
• Done right, It could increase the demand for biking and walking infrastructure; it could be done with 3rd party company money. It should be designed for residents, with tourists picking up some benefits, not the other way around.
• It could help ease traffic in the more “touristy” areas of town like Downtown, River Arts, etc. Hopefully it will also lead to more bike lanes, etc which Asheville desperately needs…
• Good for tourism, a pleasant way to exercise, and an easy way to get from one section of town to another.
• I think that it is worthwhile to try this out as it benefits tourists and residents alike. People who depend on public transportation may be able to use bikes.
• A proliferation and density of bike riders around town would lead the way for infrastructure by providing data on real-world use. Seeing more cyclists would also make drivers more bike-aware. We could see lower traffic speeds and more driver empathy. It also creates an active alternative to downtown visits and commutes, a good compliment to bus transit, while alleviating the parking crunch. And while I favor a docked system, I wouldn’t hate to see bikes left around town under a dockless system. They are an invitation to ride and enjoy life.
• Maybe it would decrease the amount of cars on the road. Perhaps it would increase the cities willingness to make bike riding more safe. We need more safe bike lanes and sidewalks. It sucks to get stuck in a car behind bike riders and it is terrifying to ride on large roads without a bike lane
• I host visitors. Many of them would love to have bikes available.
• It would be nice to get around for leisure or errands.
• Good for the environment.
• Get more people using anything other than cars to get around.
• I think it’s great for tourists as well as residents who don’t want to ride from home, but still ride.
• I want to be less dependent on cars. Better for environment and health.
• Others without reliable transportation may benefit.
• It might reduce car congestion and parking issues in downtown; it’s better for the environment; and it makes sense for a city trying to think ahead.
• I’ve used bike share programs in other cities and loved it! It is a great way to complete oneway rides while touring around town or running errands. Anything we can do to decrease our dependency on cars is a plus!!
• Bike share is great and green. I came from Dayton, Ohio. Stations were used there and there was never a problem with bikes left on lawns or in the street. I do not know about any damage. I never saw any. Tokens or credit cards could be used and then the money refunded when the bike is returned. Having a 24 hour time limit would be better for workers.
• Easier than driving/parking down town. Perhaps use an upcharge option for freestanding bikes.
  Rentals should include safety equipment.
• Better for the environment more intimate experience of the city
• I think bike shares are a way to explore the city up close and not through the windshield of a car. I think tourists would like it and I would like to be able to jump on one from work (south slope) and ride to get lunch around town without either losing my parking spot or having to use my car at all.
• Great for tourism if done right.
• Fewer cars
• moved to AVL because I learned there was going to be a greenbelt....

What’s next? The City will be publishing a timeline for a decision on the project in the coming weeks. We will keep you updated as we know more.

And, if you missed the deadline for our survey but still want to share your voice, no worries. Go ahead + add your opinion on the issue in the comment section here (scroll to the bottom).

Have a great Wednesday, Asheville.

– Ali