Nearly four years after Hamilton almost lost its bike-share service, the program will be expanding its reach in the city.
Hamilton Bike Share announced Thursday that its service area will be extending east from Ottawa Street to Kenilworth Avenue, with five new bike hubs set to be installed in Ward 4 this spring.
The expansion is being supported by funding from the Healthy Communities Initiative, a federal program that funds programming to “create safer, more vibrant and inclusive communities,” according to a media release.
The new hubs will be located at R.T. Steele Park; A.M. Cunningham Parkette; A.M. Cunningham Elementary School; the intersection of Main and London streets; and the intersection of King Street Street and Graham Avenue South.
The announcement marks the first major expansion of the program — which has historically operated from Dundas to Ottawa Street — in several years.
Back in 2017, a dozen new hubs were installed in neighbourhoods between Wentworth and Ottawa Streets. And in 2022, the organization added and expanded hubs within the existing service area, as well as extended access along York Boulevard to the RBG Rock Garden.
The program also offers a seasonal, summertime hub at Van Wagner’s Beach.
The expansion comes nearly four years after Hamilton Bike Share nearly crashed and burned at the height of the pandemic when its previous operator, Uber, suddenly abandoned its contract with the city.
However, the program was saved when Hamilton Bike Share and community donors stepped up to raise enough money to keep bicycle wheels on the road temporarily.
Nearly two years later, council voted to keep the program alive long-term.
Since then, the non-profit operator has overseen more than 800 bikes at about 130 locations around the city.
Alongside the expansion, a portion of the funding will be used to create 150 new subsidized ride passes for low-income residents through the Everyone Rides Initiative.
Julia Hamill, program manager for Everyone Rides Initiative, told The Spectator that the growth of the program will benefit not just those living in east Hamilton, but folks across the city.
Hamill noted that users have regularly asked for the service area to expand in the lower city when surveyed by the operator.
“I think it’s really exciting for a lot of residents in the east end to be able to more easily access Bike Share,” said Hamill. “Whether that be using Bike Share to commute, connect to transit and enjoying time outside with friends and family.”
Hamill said the expansion will also add more than 75 additional bikes to the fleet, many of those being the orange bikes that were donated by the City of Portland, Ore., in 2021 and have been reused in Steeltown ever since.
As part of the expansion, the organization has recruited a pair of Ward 4 residents who will act as neighbourhood connectors to help spread the word about Bike Share and the new hubs.
One of the new hubs will also feature a crosswalk mural painted by local artist Tandeka Tremblay, according to the release.
The expansion of the program will be marked with a family-friendly group ride and social event on May 16. The ride will leave from the Adaptive Bike Hub in Gage Park at 6:30 p.m. for a short tour of the new service area.
The cruise will end at R.T. Steele Park at 7 p.m. Refreshments will be served.
The new bike hubs and service area boundary is slated to go live for users ahead of the launch date, with the locations to appear in the SoBi app as they are activated, according to the release.
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation