City considers bringing bike-share program to Windsor

If it can be done on the cheap, a city-wide bicycle-sharing program could have a home in Windsor, said city Coun. Paul Borrelli.

The Ward 10 representative asked city staff at a council meetingMonday to outline what it would take to bring abike-share program to the city.

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Borrelli was in Toronto recently when he spotted rows of sleek commuter bikes neatly lined up at stations throughout the downtown. Recognizing that these programs are popular in most major city centres around the globe, he had one question for himself.

"I thought: Why not Windsor?" Borrellitold CBC News. "It's a great way to use the bicycle when you need it."

Community support

Other groups in the city are already pushing for their own small-scale, bike-share programs, including the law faculty at the University of Windsor.

With a significant portion of the law program moving downtown as part of the school's urban expansion, students will need more transportation options for getting to and from campus, explained Chris Waters, acting dean of law and chairman of the Windsor Bicycling Committee.

The faculty plans to buy two bicycles students can use to commute between campus and the downtown.

"It's very small scale, obviously," Waters said. "I'd like to see something on the bigger scale, whether that be something specifically for the university, or the downtown, or a broader bike-share program in the city. I think there's a lot of potential there."

Bike-share programs have had their challenges in Canada, including in cities like Toronto and Montreal.

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Borrelli said a bike program would have to be cost effective, which is why he likes the idea of getting sponsors for the bikes andstations. He's confident if the city can get it done, people will use the bikes.

"Not everyone is able to have a bike," Borrelli said. "There are many people downtown that don't have a place to put a bike. Using it when needed would be the best."

Waters agrees that Windsor is the ideal location for a strong cycling community.

"If cycling's sustainable as a method of active transportation anywhere in Canada, it is here because it's relatively flat [and] because we have a relatively moderate climate," he said. "We've got a lot of amenities within the core that make cycling a feasible way of getting around town."