Kicking off their first round of investments, The City of Dayton has awarded Bike Miami Valley $100,000 in American Rescue Plan funds (ARPA) for further expansion of the Link: Dayton Bike Share system into West Dayton. Members of the Bike Miami Valley board and its Executive Director, Laura Estandia were on site for the contract approval. “We’re thrilled that Link will be one piece of this historic investment on the West Side,” says Estandia.
Bike Miami Valley currently operates 37 hubs in the core of downtown and the surrounding historic districts, but more capacity is needed on the west side to make a convenient and viable network. Bike Miami Valley has also received a grant from the Better Bike Share Partnership to support the neighborhood outreach efforts to select the new locations. “Bike Miami Valley is excited for the opportunity to work with new and existing neighborhoods to add capacity for bike sharing hubs that are convenient and accessible for residents,” says Estandia.
The project would fund 5-7 new hubs in the priority areas, as well as electric pedal assist bicycles that would fill the hubs. The target neighborhoods are Grafton Hill, Wright Dunbar, Wolf Creek, Five Oaks and Old Dayton View. The project would also fund some one-time hardware expenses to help with operations of the Link system including a new van, which would be used by Link operations staff to balance bikes in the expanded network.
Link is a hub based bike share network that allows users to make point to point trips between its 37 pick-up and drop off locations. Users can access the system by downloading the Link Dayton app to access Link’s fleet of pedal and pedal assist (or electric) bicycles. The system serves roughly 3,700 users annually. In 2021, the Link system expanded into the Carillon neighborhood of Dayton and has seen growth in ridership at those new locations.
“This investment in the West Dayton Link expansion complements the work the city is doing to increase active transportation options in the city and improve the quality of life and health of our residents,” said Mayor Mims.
