OCEAN CITY – Officials will move forward in their efforts to establish a bike repair station at the south end of the Boardwalk.
Last week, the Ocean City Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee agreed to seek cost estimates and location approval for a bike repair station near the police department’s Boardwalk substation.
Council Secretary Tony DeLuca, committee liaison, said the idea was to test one location and add more repair stations if the pilot program is successful.
“If it’s successful, then it could grow,” he said.
In December, committee member and local bike shop owner Joe Marx presented BPAC members with an idea to provide bike stations on the Boardwalk to inflate flat tires. And in January, the committee agreed to explore cost estimates for installing two stations.
“It’s about eight inches in diameter and bolts to the ground to a piece of concrete,” Marx said at the time. “It’s just a manual pump, but it looks very commercial.”
Back on the agenda last week, Marx presented committee members with cost estimates for a standard stainless steel outdoor bike pump. He said each unit would cost roughly $700, but prices increased as additional features – like tools and bike chocks – were added.
“I would think, for ease of starting it, maybe put one at each end of the Boardwalk and one at Northside Park or something like that,” he said.
When asked about the feasibility of installing one at each end of the Boardwalk, Public Works Director Hal Adkins said he would have to look at proposed locations.
“I would have to look for locations that are not in conflict with other operations that may not be on the radar screen of anyone in this room,” he said. “You’ve got to make sure they’re close enough for the bikers, but remote enough where a Boardwalk tram is not going to run over top of it.”
Officials noted the town would have to explore funding sources to pay for the repair stations. Marx said he could also explore dealer pricing options that would make each unit cheaper to purchase.
After further discussion, the committee agreed to test one location at the police department’s Boardwalk substation, given the appropriate approvals. Officials also agreed to explore different pricing options and funding sources within the public works budget.
“If you do one as a tester, I suggest putting it somewhere where there’s a City Watch camera,” said Ocean City Police Department’s Rick Wawrzeniak. “You want to put it someplace where it’s routinely in view. That way if this is our tester and something happens, we can see what it was.”
