ACTION ALERT : Metro Council to vote on Bike Share funding.
Bike Share station in Birmingham, Alabama
This Wednesday, October 25th, the Baton Rouge Metro Council will vote on whether to provide funding to the Baton Rouge Bike Share, without which the Bike Share will either fail, or be forced to run in a more limited capacity than the currently planned 82 stations and 800+ bikes.
The majority of the funding ($2.1 million of about $3 million) for the Bike Share is set to come from corporate sponsorship and user revenues, with about $850,000 coming from a federal Transportation Alternatives Program grant, of which the city is required to provide a 20% match ($260,000).
The metro council hearing must authorize the city parish to provide these funds.
Using economic analyses of the project and of existing Bike Share programs, such as the Zyp system in Alabama, Bike Baton Rouge estimates that use of the Baton Rouge Bike Share system will generate around $650,000 in economic benefits for Baton Rouge per year, paying for the City-Parish investment swiftly.
To make sure our Bike Share system gets funded, we're asking you to contact your council person and ask them to vote to approve the city-parish to spend this amount to make Bike Share in Baton Rouge a reality. Below, we've provided contact details for all twelve metro council members, a map of our districts, and a template email that you can send to your councilperson.
Click HERE for a zoomable district map.
Email template :
Dear Councilperson,
On Wednesday, October 25th, the metro council will be asked to vote on the proposed funding of a small portion of a Federal Transportation Alternatives Program grant to help fund a Bike Share System in Baton Rouge. This funding, at $260,000, is less than 10% of the overall $3 million budget for the project, and the economic benefits of the program, which Bike Baton Rouge estimates at $650,000 annually, will see this investment pay for itself in healthier and happier residents of Baton Rouge in just a few months.
I urge you to vote to approve this funding amount.
Yours,
Name
Address
District 1 - Trae Welch
225.389.5170
225.910.2052
council-dist1@brgov.com
lrioux@brgov.com
District 2 - Chauna Banks
225.389.8331
council-dist2@brgov.com
vcarter@brgov.com
District 3 - Chandler Loupe
council-dist3@brgov.com
dpourso@brgov.com
District 4 - Scott Wilson
kkelly@brgov.com
council-dist4@brgov.com
District 5 - Erika L. Green
council-dist5@brgov.com
GGaines@brgov.com
jjamison@brgov.com
District 6 - Donna Collins-Lewis
council-dist6@brgov.com
pamelasmith@brgov.com
District 7- LaMont Cole
225.389.3182
council-dist7@brgov.com
TPHARRIS@brgov.com
District 8 - Buddy Amoroso
225-389-5168
council-dist8@brgov.com
dgoux@brgov.com
District 9 - Dwight Hudson
council-dist9@brgov.com
LALCH@brgov.com
District 10 - Tara Wicker
225-389-5140
225-389-8720
council-dist10@brgov.com
cclark@brgov.com
District 11 - Matt Watson
225-389-5169
council-dist11@brgov.com
mmcwhorter@brgov.com
jtittlebaum@brgov.com
District 12 - Barbara Freiberg
225-389-4697
council-dist12@brgov.com
ggremillion@brgov.com