Exploring Bicycle Options for Federal Lands: Bike Sharing, Rentals and Employee Fleets 

The Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in Parks Technical Assistance Center will be hosting a FREE online training event for Federal Land Management Agencies on "Exploring Bicycle Options for Federal Lands: Bike Sharing, Rentals and Employee Fleets" on Tuesday, May 8, 2012. 

Course Description: 

Bicycle programs can help Federal land management agencies, non-profit-organizations and communities work toward their environmental, public health and sustainability goals, while providing visitors and employees additional travel choices. This training explores three options for making bicycles more readily available in Federal lands; public bicycle sharing systems, bicycle rental programs, and employee bicycle fleets.  

This course will help participants determine which bike programs may best suit their needs and provide planning resources. It is intended for public lands and gateway community transportation and recreation planners, bike share program operators, bike rental shop operators, Federal lands concessionaires, health promotion coordinators and others with an interest in integrating bicycles into daily routines. 

Course Objective: 

In this course, participants will gain an understanding of public bicycle sharing, bike rentals and employee bike fleets.  Course goals are to:

• Give a brief overview of how bike programs can benefit Federal land Management Agencies
• Demonstrate ways that Federal Land Management Agencies have implemented bike sharing, rentals and employee bike fleets into their everyday operations
• Identify characteristics of places that support public bike sharing systems
• Identify business models and funding sources for bike programs in Federal lands
• Understand how bike programs address legal liability, safety issues, and helmet use
• Explore how elements of successful bike sharing and rental programs may be adapted or combined for Federal lands settings.
• Know about resources available to plan for bike friendly places and programs. Two examples will be discussed from “Good Practices to Encourage Bicycling & Pedestrians On Federal Lands” Dec. 2011, prepared by the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in Parks Technical Assistance Center, along with other resources.

About the Presenters:

Rebecca Gleason, P.E. is a research engineer for the Mobility and Public Transportation research area at the Western Transportation Institute (WTI) – Montana State University.  Rebecca earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering in 1994 and holds an M.S. in Health Sciences.  She works to plan and promote bicycle and pedestrian travel as modes of active and sustainable transportation.  Ms. Gleason was the primary author of the 2008 "Guide to Promoting Bicycling on Federal Lands", which sought to raise awareness of the benefits of bicycling and the many resources already available for bike planning and design. She was also the primary author of “Exploring Bicycle Options for Federal Lands: Bike Sharing, Rentals and Employee Fleets”, a follow up to the previous work, which explores how land managers can make bicycles more accessible in Federal lands.  Rebecca advised researchers on developing “Good Practices to Encourage Bicycling and Pedestrians on Federal Lands”, a report prepared as part of the Paul S. Sarbanes Technical Assistance Center (TAC) outreach activities. Rebecca has presented at Transportation Research Board, George Wright Society and Scenic Byways conferences. She is an active member of the City of Bozeman’s Bicycle Advisory Board and is an avid mountain biker.

Susan B. Overson, MLA, has worked since 1992 as a Park Planner/Landscape Architect with the National Park Service (NPS) Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.  Susan works with 25 river communities and numerous public and private partners in the Twin Cities metro area to improve access to the Mississippi River via the Mississippi River Trail.  Her work focuses on securing federal funding and creating partnerships for trail development, regional park planning, alternative transportation systems, and improved river access within a multi-jurisdictional, national river corridor.  Since 1996, Susan has facilitated the NPS’ Trails and Open Space Partnership (TOSP), a group of over 50 agencies and organizations working together to develop a continuous trail, open space, and alternative transportation system along the Mississippi River Trail in the Twin Cities Metro Area.  In 2011, Susan completed an Alternative Transportation Plan for the MISS and, in 2012, received over $1.3 million to implement a pilot Alternative Transportation Project with partners in Minneapolis and St. Paul.  The pilot project includes the installation of an additional 30 Nice Ride MN bike share stations along the river, signage, transit improvements, and improved river access.  Project partners are Nice Ride MN, Metropolitan Council, Metro Transit, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, and the Minneapolis Riverfront Development Corporation.  Susan earned her M.L.A. at the University of Colorado, Denver May 1992 and B.S. Natural Resources from the University of Michigan, December 1977.

Richard Menicke, MS is the Geographer and GIS Coordinator at Glacier National Park.  He arrived at Glacier in 1992 as a Cartographic Technician and assumed the duties of Geographer in 1994.  Richard holds a BS degree in Forest Management from Texas A&M University and a Master of Science degree in Environmental Sciences and Regional Planning from Washington State University.  His work at Glacier focuses on applying the park’s Geographic Information System (GIS) and other natural resource information technologies to a broad range of park management and research needs, as well as applying those tools towards furthering educational programs. His current projects include E-911 address development and implementation, working with the Bigfork High School cave Club and their GIS mapping of Glacier’s cave resources, and coordination of an NRCS soil inventory project within Glacier. Richard became Glacier’s Red Bike Program Coordinator in 2011 and has also been involved in park efforts to initiate an employee shuttle system. Richard earned his M.S. from Washington State University in May 1992 and B.S. Forest Management from Texas A&M University in December 1984.

This training will be held online in a webinar format, so that you can participate from any computer with an internet connection.  Instructions on accessing the webinar will be sent after your registration is confirmed.

To register, please click the button below.  Please contact Jenni West with any questions (contact information at the top left of this page).