Visitors to Onondaga Lake Park have always been able to rent bikes. But now a new bike share program makes the whole process a lot easier.
Big white and orange bikes are attached to bright orange bike stands at the park, available for anyone who wants to take them for a spin on the seven miles of trails that hug the shore of Onondaga Lake.
Onondaga County Parks Commissioner Bill Lansley says the vendor that contracts with the county has installed 15 bikes, which can be rented in three spots throughout the park, using the Cuse Cycle app on their cell phone. Simply unlock the bike and pedal away.
McKie Sports Shop, which runs its Cuse Cycles Rental Shop in the park, has its bikes available during park hours with rental rates starting at $10 an hour. They can be rented at one of the park’s stations, and returned to another.
Right now the stations are centered around the East Shore Trail, which the commissioner described as the park’s more flat, scenic area. The stations are mobile and the first area could only be the beginning.
“We can pick this entire station up and move it to say the West Shore Trail above the Orange lot, so if we find more people are using bikes up there, then we can put a station up there,” Lansley said. “They can add a station. They can add more bikes. So it grows with capacity.”
One of the upsides of expansion would be the ability renters have to explore even more of the city both in and around the park. Lansley says the Uber-like program could have a bright future at one of the Onondaga County’s most popular parks.
“When we develop the Loop the Lake program, you’ll see more of these popping up and you’ll be able to go to the creek walk and go downtown,” Lansley said. “But, [it’s] very convenient to come here and unlock it with your cell phone and go for a ride.”
