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Date: 11/3/2021
CHICOPEE – As evergreen transportation options continue to grow, Chicopee has become the eighth community to integrate the Valley Bike Share program into its transportation offerings. The addition came during a ribbon cutting ceremony on Oct. 21.
Mayor John Vieau was joined by Planning Director Lee Pouliot and Valley Bike Share representatives to unveil the project. During the ribbon cutting, the mayor spoke about the new opportunities that Valley Bike brings to the city. “I’m excited to introduce transportation for those who do not have a car. Biking is the way of the future…ride on,” said Vieau.
Chicopee is integrating three Valley Bike docking stations during the initial rollout period. The primary station is located outside City Hall at 274 Front St. The other two stations are still in their development phase, with one set to open at Chicopee Falls between the Main, Church and Broadway streets intersection, while the other will be at Rivers Park at 0 Meadow St. Shannon Bliven, who oversees community outreach and business development for Valley Bike Share, explained to Reminder Publishing that the program initially began with Northampton, Holyoke, Springfield and Easthampton. From there, the organization expanded to Amherst, West Springfield and South Hadley before making their debut in Chicopee. “We slowly rolled out the project to more communities after a successful first run,” said Bliven.
Bliven shared that Chicopee reached out last year to be a part of the program. She said her organization sells the Valley Bike stations to municipalities, with the city owning the stations once they are imbedded into the communities.
The bikes themselves are not your ordinary two-wheel creations. Bliven discussed how Valley Bike has partnered with the Canadian organization Bewegen Technologies to provide a more dynamic riding vehicle. The Bewegen bikes include an electric motor to help traverse hills and long distances, as well an attached basket that can carry up to 50 pounds. “[The bikes] can go pretty fast, but they are pretty approachable to operate,” said Bliven.
Interested riders can register at ValleyBike.org. The station offers $6 day passes, along with a $20 monthly membership and a $80 annual membership. Riders must dock the bike during a 45-minute window to avoid overage fees. Bliven revealed the program also offers free access passes for people in Section 8 housing.