Charlotte City Council has voted to accept nearly $1.7 million in grants to fund the expansion of the city’s B-cycle bike-sharing program.
About $1 million of this amount will be granted under the Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) initiative, and $675,000 under the Federal Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP).
B-cycle will provide $450,801 as required by both grants; CMAQ calls for 22 percent local and TAP, 20 percent. With these funds, the program plans to add 25 stations to its existing bike-sharing system, which is among the largest in the Southeast.
Currently, B-cycle runs 26 fully-operational stations with 214 bikes. The city has committed to give staff support during the expansion, and to work with the program for selection of potential station sites.
City Council has also moved forward with a construction contract that will connect the Central Business District to Charlotte’s fiber optic communication network.
Called the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) project, this endeavor will allow the city to remotely monitor and control signals to improve traffic flow. According to the statement issued by the city, this upgrade would become especially useful during sporting events, public gatherings and city parades.
The project, which will cost $999,605.48, includes the following improvements: installation of approximately 5.78 miles of fiber optic cable, connections to 27 existing traffic signals, and the addition of 20 traffic management cameras.
Work on the ITS project is slated for completion by the second quarter of 2018.
