The Bike Share Group is a Ballard collaboration with the vision to create the first Seattle bike share system that will support the community's long term goals for livability by providing transportation alternatives that reduce our environmental impact. A shared bike system reduces our dependence on fossil fuel sources, creates efficient movement from place to place, and improves vehicular congestion. A pilot bike share project in Ballard will enable a new experience with public transportation that is healthy, fun and easy to use.

Mark Hulscher, head bike share groupie, plans to implement a 20-bike pilot system in Ballard by November to encourage alternative forms of transportation for getting around and to demonstrate the value of these public transit systems in a high-density urban area. The Bike Share Group recently received a $5,000 matching grant from Groundswell NW, a non-profit organization in Ballard dedicated to creating parks & preserving habitat.

Ballard visitors and residents will be able to check out a bike from one of the 5 to 10 stations. After taking a trip to the store, the park, the beach, or just for a ride, the bike is simply returned to a station and automatically locked at an empty dock. The pilot program will experiment with various use and payment concepts to help create better models for future operations.

Creation of the bike share system draws from the resources, creativity, and relationships from within the community, creating a collaboration that is critical to a thriving local economy. The Bike Share Group is combining design ideas from the community with their technical expertise to produce the system designs. Then they use local companies like Hjorth Consulting, Laser Cutting NW, American Powercoating and Limback Lumber to actually produce the systems. Collaboration with the community ensures that the economic power of the bike share system resides within the community to the greatest extent possible.

The first of several designs to be showcased in the pilot program, the "plaza" station model (pictured above) was unveiled at the Global 10-10-10 Work Party event hosted by Sustainable Ballard at the Ballard Commons Park. The bike station itself is designed to provide shelter from rain while supporting innovative sustainable design elements.

A green roof garden gives the bike share station an identity that strengthens the collaborative mission of The Bike Share Group & Groundswell NW, according to GNW's Elizabeth Dunigan. Sedum species & mosses provided by Swansons nursery will absorb stormwater, provide habitat for wildlife, and improve the aesthetic quality of the urban experience.

The bike share system will create positive community experiences that will have many lasting sustainable benefits, while nurturing the most important feature of the bike share system - the people.