Acton’s Planning and Sustainability departments hosted a launch of the new Bike Share Program last Friday, August 11, at the East Acton Village Green, a small park abutting the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail on Concord Rd.
The program is a partnership of Acton and Concord, with two stations in Acton—at Brook St. and Great Rd., and at Concord Ave. and Great Rd.—and two in Concord—in West Concord and in Concord Center near the Visitor Center.
A stream of visitors looked over the pre-owned bikes that had been purchased for the program with $5000 startup funds. The funds were associated with the Sustainability Policy voted in at Town Meeting in 2020, according to Sustainability Director Andrea Becerra. Staff had ridden the bikes over from the Concord Department of Public Works last week. Riders rent the bikes for $2 per hour through a phone app called Koloni.
Bike issues such as a malfunction of the lock’s battery, a rider going out of range, or a bike abandoned elsewhere–not at a station–result in an email alert to Town staff for repair or bike retrieval.
Refreshments were provided by the Town of Acton and by Frolic and Detour of Nagog Park, who created sandwiches of smoked salmon on slices of crisp potato.
Assistant Planners Nora Masler and Kaila Sauer, Sustainability Director Andrea Becerra, Land Stewardship Coordinator Ian Bergmann, and Sustainability Fellow Hannah Arledge all attended the event. Members of the Friends of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail, including Judy Perrin and Barbara Pike, also joined. Select Board members David Martin and Alissa Nicol were present, and Martin gave remarks on behalf of the Board. He thanked the public for attending, and the staff for bringing the bike share program to the community. He said the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail connects Acton to Lowell and now to Sudbury, and will eventually end in Framingham.
The bikes rented through the Bike Share are standard two-wheelers. Trikes and other adaptive bikes can be rented through the Recreation Department at NARA Park.
