by Michelle Mullen<\/p>\n
An expansion of Citi Bike stations across Bronx Community District 8 is drawing mixed reactions from residents.<\/p>\n
Twenty-two new stations are expected to be installed throughout the district this year, bringing the total number in the area to 46. The additions aim to expand access to the bike-share system in neighborhoods where stations have historically been limited or absent.<\/p>\n
Among the most debated installations has been the Citi Bike station at Knolls Crescent and Kappock Street. Installed in late May, the station replaced several curbside parking spaces near the Knolls shopping center and quickly became a flashpoint in the neighborhood\u2019s broader debate over the expansion.<\/p>\n
Cynthia Rabinowitz, who lives near the shopping center, said she does not oppose Citi Bike itself but believes the station should have been placed elsewhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said I\u2019m not against it. Put it on the sidewalk, or put it somewhere, you know, there must be another area where they could put it, not in the middle of the street,\u201d Rabinowitz said. <\/p>\n
Rabinowitz said she worries the loss of parking could become even more noticeable when a Fine Fare Supermarket opens in the shopping center, replacing the vacant Rite Aid, and begins drawing additional customers and deliveries. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s discouraging people from shopping,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen that Fine Fare comes in, people are going to be coming in and there won\u2019t be enough spots for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not every resident, however, sees the stations as a problem.<\/p>\n
Kevin Childress, who lives in Knolls Cooperative Building 2, said he welcomed the arrival of Citi Bike in the neighborhood and believes the stations can help connect Riverdale to surrounding communities while supporting local businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never really had concerns about Citi Bike,\u201d Childress said. \u201cI was excited when I heard that they were coming into the retail area.\u201d<\/p>\n
Childress recalled friends visiting from Inwood who rode Citi Bikes across the Henry Hudson Bridge to Knolls Crescent, stopping at a local wine shop before heading home.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought, this is exactly what this docking station stuff is supposed to do,\u201d Childress said. \u201cIt\u2019s supposed to bring new retail business into the area.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said many critics simply do not see the value because they are unlikely to use the system themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople act like the bike demographic is not important,\u201d Childress said. \u201cIt\u2019s a fourth demographic that we\u2019re adding to the shopping mix there.\u201d<\/p>\n
But concerns have also emerged in North Riverdale, where new stations recently appeared along Broadway near Van Cortlandt Park.<\/p>\n
Angela Tassone, who has lived in the neighborhood for more than a decade, said the stations arrived in an area where parking is already strained by the heavy use of Van Cortlandt Park.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou come here on a Saturday or Sunday, [cars are] double and triple parked,\u201d Tassone said. \u201cThere is no place to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said youth sports, soccer leagues, cricket matches and other recreational activities routinely fill nearby streets on weekends.<\/p>\n
The differing reactions highlight the challenge of expanding alternative transportation options in a district where many residents continue to rely heavily on cars while others increasingly embrace biking and public transit.<\/p>\n
Debbie Allen, chair of Community Board 8\u2019s Transportation Committee, said the discussion reflects competing demands for limited street space throughout the district.<\/p>\n
The New York City Department of Transportation said the expansion is intended to improve mobility and provide additional transportation options for residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cCiti Bike is a convenient, sustainable, and quick way to get around,\u201d a DOT spokesperson said. \u201cBike share has become an integral part of our transportation landscape, and this expansion will bring this great service to even more New Yorkers.\u201d<\/p>\n
The debate has also reached local elected officials, with Assembly member Jeffrey Dinowitz telling The Press feedback to his office has been mixed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt hasn\u2019t been just one-sided,\u201d Dinowitz said. \u201cI\u2019ve gotten some emails in favor of the Citi Bike stuff as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, he said the loss of even a few spaces can have an outsized effect in areas where parking is already limited.<\/p>\n
\u201cTaking away three spots may not sound like a lot to some people, but it\u2019s three spots out of a relatively low number,\u201d Dinowitz said, referencing the roadway stations in Knolls Crescent. \u201cIt\u2019s a high percentage. It makes a difference. I personally don\u2019t think it should have been there at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Council member Eric Dinowitz said many stations could have been installed without removing curbside parking.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the beginning, I said we should be expanding transit options, not supplanting one mode over another,\u201d he said. \u201cCiti Bike should be brought all over my district on the sidewalks or in daylighted areas where they don\u2019t take up parking.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said a walkthrough with DOT officials identified locations where stations could have been placed without affecting parking.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have pretty wide sidewalks throughout the neighborhood,\u201d Dinowitz said. \u201cIt took us two seconds at each site to identify areas where the bikes could have been moved.\u201d<\/p>\n
The debate over station placement has also raised another question: how much are the stations actually being used?<\/p>\n
Seeking to answer that question, Matt Bolano, a Queens resident and data analyst for the Golden State Warriors, created an online map using historical and live Citi Bike data to track station performance throughout the city.<\/p>\n
His analysis suggests some Riverdale stations are seeing more activity than critics assume. The station at Knolls Crescent and Kappock Street ranks in the 82nd percentile citywide for electric-bike availability, while the nearby station at Kappock Street and Independence Avenue ranks in the 43rd percentile.\u00a0 The percentiles reflect how frequently bikes are checked out of the stations. A higher percentile means a station has more bikes taken out. <\/p>\n
DOT officials said they regularly review ridership data and system performance as the network expands. The agency also defended the use of curbside space for bike-share infrastructure.<\/p>\n
\u201cEight publicly accessible bikes are made available to New Yorkers for each private vehicle spot,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cEach of those bikes is used on average four times per day.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to DOT, a Citi Bike station generates more trips per square foot than a private vehicle parking space while serving a greater number of users.<\/p>\n
The agency said stations can be relocated when necessary and are periodically evaluated after installation. DOT also said it has not seen increases in traffic complaints associated with Citi Bike expansions citywide.<\/p>\n
Lyft, which operates Citi Bike, did not respond to requests for comment by press time.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tKeywords<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\tCiti Bike,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Riverdale,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Bronx Community District 8,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t bike share,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t transportation,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t parking concerns,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t New York City Department of Transportation,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t DOT,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Eric Dinowitz,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Jeffrey Dinowitz,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Knolls Crescent,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Kappock Street,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t North Riverdale,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Van Cortlandt Park\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"by Michelle Mullen An expansion of Citi Bike stations across Bronx Community District 8 is drawing mixed reactions…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":846486,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,346100,346099,79298,52471,346102,346103,346105,346104,405,403,113725,5226,5225,346106,5228,5227,346101,25835,522,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,204409],"class_list":["post-846485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-america","tag-bike-share","tag-bronx-community-district-8","tag-citi-bike","tag-dot","tag-eric-dinowitz","tag-jeffrey-dinowitz","tag-kappock-street","tag-knolls-crescent","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-department-of-transportation","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkcity","tag-north-riverdale","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-parking-concerns","tag-riverdale","tag-transportation","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-van-cortlandt-park"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116698381658701731","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=846485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846485\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/846486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=846485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=846485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=846485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}