Bike has been dispatched/redistribution.

Lime Bike should have specific locations that are not on a sidewalks (parks?) where bikes must
be parked to stop the clock on the use of the bike which could be tracked via GPS coordinates.
These bikes are left all over the city in inconvenient locations for pedestrians, business owners, and homeowners. The city council should have understood this before implementing this program. All cities using bike or moped sharing programs are having the same problems.

Yes. Bicycles are great, and I'm happy to see more of them in use, but they are vehicles. Let's allocate dock locations for them, rather than impinging on pedestrian areas. This current system has no controls for this, no way to educate users about where to leave the bicycles, and unfairly depends on the labor of people like you and me to make these reports daily. Sure, the bicycle gets picked up and the problem is "solved", but tomorrow there will be another bicycle on the sidewalk, and another the next day...

It would be nice if someone from the city addressed this larger issue.

I love the convenience of a dockless program but completely sympathize with the issue of blocked sidewalks. Perhaps there is a compromise solution? Maybe bike racks/stands in MANY locations (in front of the courthouse, at ALL the garages/parking lots, ALL the parks, near the bike trail, T station, etc. I think if users don't have to go more than a block or two they would be happy to use the rack/stands. Added bonus, if there are bike racks/stand available for folks to use, more people would just ride their OWN bikes!

I love the dockless bike program and am glad to see it taking off in Malden. However, I understand the inconvenience the bikes can cause when left in improper locations. Can LimeBike maybe penalize users who leave bikes on sidewalks or on private property by locking their accounts for a period of time? If users saw they would be held responsible for leaving the bikes in the wrong spots they might be more careful.

Just walked by this spot. Plenty of room (see complete photo). So glad we finally have bikeshare in this city.

Thanks, D.C.C.S. and Eddie. Those are both solutions worth talking about. I'd like to see more ongoing discussions like this. I myself would bike more (using my own bicycle), if there were more places to secure it.

Totally agree with the need for more bike parking! One city with reckless bikes put a bike rack at every crosswalk which had the added benefit of improving pedestrians ability to see oncoming traffic. We should do something similar.

Oops meant dockless bikes, but maybe reckless works too lol

No, that is not "plenty of room." That bike is directly in the middle of the travel path of the sidewalk. What may be something that an able-bodied person like you can easily step around, for a disabled person it isn't that simple. In fact, for a visually impaired person navigating with a cane, it's a serious safety hazard. Something that you might not know (but which I do as the parent of a visually impaired 12 year old child who is himself beginning to learn to navigate with a cane) is that Malden has a relatively large community of visually impaired residents, largely due to its walkability and proximity to public transportation. Quite simply, the bike doesn't belong there. That's not what the sidewalk is for. If you think that's OK, then you are on the wrong side of the issue (and the law) when it comes to rights of accessibility for the disabled. And if that's going to be the attitude of some Limebike users, then the program's days are very much numbered.

How did the city get approval for that massive, immovable steel light post smack in the sidewalk there, in the very same photo with the offending bicycle? How is nobody concerned about that post? I'm at a loss to see how one of these objects can be a hazard and not the other.

You are absolutely right Jen. These sorts of problems are rampant in Malden. In fact, despite how "progressive" we all like to think we are around here, the Boston area is one of the worst in the country when it comes to disabled access. You're right that that pole shouldn't be there. And this gets to a broader problem here in town. After the passage of the ADA in the 90's, all cities were supposed to complete ADA transition plans to come up with ways to address these problems moving forward. My understanding is that Malden completed a draft, but never a final version for implementation. And ongoing problems like this are the result. Keep in mind, this isn't just about the disabled. The code requirements of the ADA benefit everyone. The benefits range from more passable sidewalks, to improved pedestrian ramps and crosswalks, to safer intersections. I've tried to get information from the city about the status of the transition plan, but have never heard back. I'm going to follow up on that. As a final thought, people have raised some very good ideas about how make things work more smoothly for everyone, like bike lanes and designated parking areas for the bikes. I especially like the idea of using the parking spaces nearest crosswalks for bike parking. All of that leads me to conclude that the city needs a comprehensive transporation plan to pull everything together.

On top of that, it isn't really a "solution" at all. Because even after it has been reported the bike still remains, obstructing access for pedestrians, including the disabled, for anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days. Moving the bike doesn't undo any of that. Sadly, many of the people in our government who have brought this program here are people I have supported given their positions on other issues of importance to my family and me. However, my patience with them, especially in light of their failure to address this issue in any meaningful way whatsoever, is wearing very thin.

Could anyone imagine drivers leaving contact information on their dashboard and then getting a courtesy call before getting towed, with no specified window for them to actually move the vehicle? The situation is irresponsible and would never happen with vehicles.

Ghazi, thank you for the insight. The bicycles are a personal annoyance to me, because I've been trying for years to keep the sidewalks unobstructed for pedestrians, but I did not have a complete understanding of the impact on people who are mobility- or visually-impaired. Can't an action to enforce the ADA requirements be brought against the city? I wonder if there is a way to organize a group (outside of SCF) to pursue this?

That's an interesting idea. Maybe even a FB group as a way to get things started?

That's a good idea. I wonder if there's a way to make it searchable -- I'd give you my contact info but don't necessarily want to post it on this thread, and I'm not sure SCF offers private messaging.