Bridgeport Gets $1.6 MM to Create City-Wide Bicycle Network and "Bike Share"

Congratulations to Bridgeport on the city's new grant for bicycle infrastructure!

Bridgeport seems like a challenging place to create the state's first bike share, but hopefully the addition of new bike routes will help.

According to the most reliable data available from the Census, only about 100 Bridgeport residents bicycle to work each day, versus about 1,400 residents in New Haven. But Bridgeport is also a vibrant urban area, so it's likely that many more residents will be able to bike or walk to work once more appropriate infrastructure, designed for people aged 8 to 80 to use, becomes available.

Unlike Hartford, New Haven, and Stamford, which each see an enormous surge in population each day due to an influx of commuters to local jobs, Bridgeport actually loses population because of its much smaller local jobs base. This means that residents within the city may need even more help getting to transit that leaves the city and services other nearby towns, which is where a bike share could play an
important role.

Good luck to those working on this! Please feel free to contact Elm City Cycling for any assistance - many of the active members are very familiar with biking in Bridgeport, or work in that area.

 - Contributed by Mark Abraham