CDPHP Cycle! eyes bringing rental bikes to Warren County bike trails
GLENS FALLS, N.Y. (NEWS10) - The CDPHP Cycle! program has made rental bikes a reality across the capital region since 2017. With cycles ready to rent with the push of a phone button in Albany, Troy, Schenectady, Cohoes and Saratoga, the group is now setting their sights further north.
On Wednesday morning, Warren County hosted CDPHP and county leaders live on YouTube to talk about the prospect of bringing 20 rental bikes to Glens Falls and Queensbury. Unlike previous efforts, the move north would be county-wide.
In part, that choice comes from data the group already has on how their over 400 bikes in the capital region are used. The 9-mile stretch from Glens Falls to Lake George, for example, isn't too different from 7 miles from Albany to Troy, or 11 from Albany to Schenectady; both trips CDPHP already sees their customers making.
What's more, unlike some of those trips, Warren County is equipped with a bike path, starting in Lake George, that makes those trips safer than a haphazard ride along Route 9. The bikes come in 3- and 8-gear models, ideal for the county's hilly terrain.
As the group is targeting a whole county rather than a single municipality, they're also taking into account the possibility that some riders in Glens Falls might want to rent a bike for a trip to nearby Hudson Falls or South Glens Falls, both across county lines.
That's okay; bikes need to make it back to Warren County by the end of a full trip, but a feature on the app customers use to rent also allows them to pause a ride for whatever duration of time the bike will spend outside of the service area.
CDPHP is also prepared to gather bikes and bring them back to central locations in Glens Falls and Queensbury. They have employees who already like in the area.
Bikes come with bike locks, and can be locked at any non-private property in the county at the end of a ride.
Further south, CDTA manages the program. In Warren County, the Greater Glens Falls Transit System (GGFT) would take charge.
Community leaders in attendance Wednesday spoke in approval of the plan. Next, CDPHP will present it to Warren County to figure out logistics and funding options.