2017-07-05 ClimateAwards2017Winners

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Honorable Mentions - Small City Wisconsin Rapids Mayor Zach Vruwink The River Riders Bike Share Program River Riders Bike Share, located in Wisconsin Rapids, WI, is one of Wisconsin's first rural bike share programs. The program is a community collaboration involving the city, health department, students, service organizations, and local businesses. The tradi- tional bike share model used by larger cities was not a good fit for this smaller, largely rural city with limited funding. This free bike share program is intended to promote a healthier lifestyle, increase recreational opportunities, as well as provide access to a means of transportation that also reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. River Rider Bike Share is a grassroots program made up of 20 community donated bikes, available at four host site locations throughout Wisconsin Rapids. Bikes are all painted the area's signature cranberry -red color and named by the donor of the bike. Riders can check out a bike for a 24 hour time period with host sites completing a simple check out process of lock and key. The main challenges were liability, maintenance volunteers, and capacity. The Bike Share Committee developed a liability form which was approved by Wood County's Corp Counsel. For volunteers, the community responded to the city's request for volunteers that came from a teen leadership group, local civic organizations (e.g., Rotary), high school students, and others (e.g., local environmental group). The need for a bike share program was identified due to the increasing rate of obesity of city residents, lack of public trans- portation, and the economic downturn caused by the decline of pulp and paper products. This free bike share program has ad- dressed these issues by giving citizens an opportunity to become healthier individuals and has also providing an affordable means of transportation with over 500 bike check-outs in the first two summer season; 2015 and 2016. River Riders Bike Share is empowering people to re -think how they get from point A to point B; how can we change a car centric rural community into one that promotes bicycling; a healthier non-polluting mode of transportation. River Rider Bike Share is a community effort. At its core, the program strives to reduce disparities and improve equity for all in our community. An unintended benefit of the program was the use of the bicycles for transportation for those searching for employment or those participating in HUBER, a work release program through the county jail. River Riders was born through a collaborative community effort under the Healthy People Wood County Coalition. Planning, implementing and evaluation were done by staff from multiple partner organizations, including the Wood County Health De- partment, Incourage Foundation, and community volunteers. Expenses to paint and repair the bikes were nominal and funded through local donations and state/federal grants. The City of Wisconsin Rapids waived the bicycle registration fee. Storage space to house the bikes during the winter was provided in-kind from the Wood County Highway Department. Volunteers con- tributed countless hours in repairing, painting, and transporting bikes. Others have donated money for the purchase of tools. Utilizing this program not only shows a commitment towards becoming healthier individuals but also promotes the desire to live in a healthier community. River Rider Bike Share is now in its third year and continues to see increasing numbers of riders utilizing the program. River Rider Bike Share is a program that has proven it is possible to address health, transportation, and environmental sustainability through a collaborative effort!