Want to ask Nicole Freedman the bicycle programs director a question? I got this in the email a moment ago.

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I wanted to let you know that today @ 3:30pm Inhabitat is hosting a live
webinar discussing Boston’s new bike sharing program. Joining us is former
Olympic cyclist and Boston Bike Czar, Nicole Freedman, and all listeners
will have the opportunity to participate and ask questions. As the driving
force behind the United States’ first city-wide bike sharing system, Nicole
is an incredible resource for anyone interested in greening their city and
improving the urban landscape for cyclists.

http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/10/21/join-our-chat-with-boston-bike-czar-nicole-freedman-this-thurs-at-2pm-est/

Quite a bit to catch up on….

A story about a new initiative in Portland, ME offering free bike sharing called White Bike. After reading about this I went up there to try the system out, I’ll have a write-up about that separately.

Digg.com pointed me to an article at EcoWorldly briefly talking about Bicycle modification and Bicycling in general in Peru. The author says he has bicycled in Boston, which gives him an angle to safety issues of bicycling in a city, and his views on that in parts of Peru.

Make sent me to a page about a bicycle modified to blow bubbles with seeds in them while being pedaled.

Lifehacker brings up some GloGloves, gloves that have decent reflective tape designs. The article also points out that you can get some of your own tape for self-modification if you’re not into shelling out the $18 for the GloGloves.

Make with another item about Rock the Bike’s live music performances on the back of a bike.

The last links are also from Make, about a Metrocard-covered bike over at BikeHacks.

Paris has one, DC is getting one, could Boston be next! Lets hope so. This was just sent to me from City Councilor John Connolly.

I am writing to let you know that I filed legislation yesterday to explore bringing a shared-bike program to Boston. Attached please find a copy of the hearing order. I want to recognize that Mayor Menino and his administration have already begun the process for launching such a program, and I look forward to hearing from City leaders on their efforts to bring a shared-bike program to fruition.

I am hoping that a hearing will present the opportunity for the public and any experts to discuss the best model for such a program, the necessary infrastructure, and the best ways to ensure a successful shared-bike program in Boston. I will keep you updated on the scheduling of the hearing. As Chair of the Council’s Environment & Health Committee, I am making every effort to promote a greener city that includes more sustainable transportation options like a shared-bike program.

I would welcome your feedback on this or any issue.

Thanks,
John

John R. Connolly
City Councillor At-Large
Boston City Council
One City Hall Square
Boston, MA 02201
phone: (617) 635-3115
fax: (617) 635-4203

You can read the proposed legislation here. (pdf)

I am not sure if Boston is ready yet for this kind of program (we lack infrastructure, driver education, biker education, common decency towards our fellow humans, etc…). And to make this successful it has to be rolled out with thousands of bikes all over town. Something I am not sure this plan proposes. But perhaps they can bootstrap it to success. A program like this would be a welcome addition to transportation options for the city (especially for tourists), lets hope they can do it, and do it well.