"Urban planners increasingly see bike sharing as the mark of a healthy world-class city."

With the way the world is being run these days, we will be sharing everything pretty soon.

Hey are you done with that job yet? I'd like a turn.

I was just wondering. When this bike share program gets going, who supplies the bicycle helmets?

"Home grown." Uh-huh ...

Yet again the Oregonian get's it wrong. Alta is hardly "home grown" in Portland.

Alta bike share is a project of Alta Planning + Design (creative types prefer plus signs over ampersands).

AP+D was founded in the ultra-exclusive San Francisco suburb of San Rafael, California. And according to the Oregon Secretary of State, AP+D says that its principal place of business is San Rafael.

Sure, they have an office in Portland. But, c'mon Joe Rose, if Alta is a home grown business for having an office here, then Chase is a home grown business for having a bunch of branches here.

"After years of study, the City Council voted last year to use $4 million in startup funds -- half from a limited, flexible federal funding pot, half from private investors -- for the automated community bicycling program. The plan was approved by Metro."

"half from limited, flexible federal funding pot"?

What a way to put it.

Why did Rose call them "limited" & not reveal that
Federal flex funds are fungible gas tax dollars that could go to roads and real transportation capital projects.

They should not be spent on providing a bike share program.

I was just wondering. When this bike share program gets going, who supplies the bicycle helmets?

The NY Times has an article on this very subject at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/30/sunday-review/to-encourage-biking-cities-forget-about-helmets.html

If you have trouble with the pay wall, try Googling "to encourage biking, cities lose the helmets".

Bike Share in Portland: Another one of Sammyboy's vanity programs that likely will end up costing txxpayers even more than the start up costs.

I don't disagree with most of what you said, but I think your statement would make most of SF and Marin chuckle. Much like saying the "ultra-exclusive Portland suburb of Gresham, Oregon."

"Home grown." Uh-huh ...
Yet again the Oregonian get's it wrong. Alta is hardly "home grown" in Portland.

Another "goof" by the O, or more evidence that Oregon's largest paper has become a mouthpiece for politically motivated misinformation. Maybe it's new nickname should be Правда (Pravda).

Urban planners increasingly see bike sharing as the mark of a healthy world-class city

There's a lot of small African villages that share bikes, but I'd hardly call them healthy, or world-class, or cities.

It wont take long till the tweaker crowd discovers you can 'rent' one of these out with a $5 prepaid debit card.

I think they come with GPS units. Wonder who will be paying for the replacements??

Now if we only had free municipal wi-fi to broadcast the inventory of municipal bikes at each rental location...

Oh, sorry. My bad.

The tweakers pull copper out of lamposts and substations. How long would it take to remove the GPS unit?