Quinn: Bike-Share Will Give NYers “Healthy, Green Way to Navigate the City”

Looks like Streetsblog readers and corporate CEOs aren’t the only ones excited about bike-share. After today’s big announcement, which included not only the branding of bike-share but also new details about the pricing and rollout of the program, the glowing reactions started to pour into our inbox. Here’s what we’re hearing:

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn didn’t participate in this morning’s presser, but she did stop by, pose with a new royal blue “Citi Bike” and declare her support for the program. “Citi Bike will give New Yorkers and the 50 million tourists who visit New York each year a healthy, green way to navigate the city,” Quinn said in an email. “I thank Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Sadik-Khan for bringing a bike share program to New York City and for working closely with members of the council and local community boards to identify suitable sites for placement.”

“I’m thrilled to have this in New York,” she told the Wall Street Journal, noting that she’d seen the success of bike-share in other cities. “I love the blue,” added the speaker. “It’s a good color for me.”

Advocacy groups, too, cheered the announcement, including the Municipal Art Society, one of the city’s most venerable urban planning organizations. “MAS sees tremendous potential in New York City’s bike share program,” said president Vin Cipolla. “In addition to increasing mobility, bike share will help introduce people to active transportation, alleviate pressure on transit, provide a quicker connection between transit stops and final destinations, and reduce the number of short auto trips.”

“Today’s sponsor announcement marks a major step toward fulfilling the immense latent demand in New York City for bicycling,” said Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Paul Steely White. “Soon, New Yorkers will have a new transportation choice to add to our diverse menu of options for getting around town. It’s no surprise that New Yorkers overwhelmingly support public bike share. As soon as it hits the streets this summer, NYC Bike Share will empower us all with new freedom and convenience in our daily transportation routines.”

Since the September 2011 selection of Alta Bikeshare to run the sytem, bike-share has earned endorsements from such unlikely bedfellows as Partnership for New York City CEO Kathy Wylde and Working Families Party Executive Director Dan Cantor, as well as numerous City Council members.