By Mrinal Gokhale
City officials dock the Bublr bikes newly installed at North Ave and Martin Luther King Jr Dr. (Photo by Mrinal Gokhale)
Bublr Bikes, Milwaukee’s only bike share program, held a ribbon cutting ceremony for their new bike share station on Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. and North Ave on the morning of November 3.
Starting at 11:30 a.m., Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett expressed excitement that 57 Bublr bike share stations have been installed throughout Milwaukee. Ten have recently been installed, nine of which were funded by a Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality program grant.
“Our vision is to make Milwaukee a city where our bike system allows people visit all different parts of the city,” he began. “Fortunately, another grant will be given to the City of Milwaukee next year to fund more stations.
“This is an attempt to make our city more liveable to allow people who want to stay in shape, see the outdoors and get around quickly move throughout Milwaukee quickly.”
Deshea Agee, Executive Director for the King Drive Business Improvement District, feels that this station is important in reaching Milwaukee’s north side residents.
“A lot of residents in Brewer’s Hill, Halyard Park and Harambee are health conscious. Having this vehicle is good for having an alternative mode for transportation and helping our environment,” he said. Bublr Bikes community engagement coordinator Caressa Givens used this event as an opportunity to promote $8 Bublr passes to Hillside Terrace and Carver Park residents, two Milwaukee Housing Authority neighborhoods. She sat near a table where she gave out fliers on Milwaukee biking resources and how to sign up for the Housing Authority pass.
“This summer, we announced that Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee residents can get an $8 yearly Bublr pass,” she said. “When someone in a Housing Authority neighborhood buys a pass, others in their household can buy one for half off.”
The $8 yearly rate is comparable to $80 for those who are not Housing Authority residents in Milwaukee. Although Bublr passes are typically sold online, Givens said this Housing Authority deal may be purchased by cash or card.
At the end, Mayor Barrett and Agee docked the bikes to declare the ceremony complete along with James Davies, acting Executive Director of Bublr Bikes and Jeff Polenske, City of Milwaukee engineer who helped design and install this station.
“The City of Milwaukee is a great partner and we wouldn’t be able to operate if we didn’t have bikes and stations. I would like to give a thanks to the City of Milwaukee, DPW and the city electricians,” said Davies.