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Demo Aug. 8-10 in Avon will gather input for countywide e-bike share program

Since launching in July 2017, the e-bike share in Summit County, Utah, which includes the town of Park City, has had had more than 48,000 trips logged totaling more than 88,000 miles. The Town of Vail's pilot prorgram will start much smaller.
Special to the Daily

If you go …

What: Electric-assist bike demo courtesy of Bewegen.

When: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 8, through Friday, Aug. 10.

Where: Avon Station, Avon.

Cost: Free.

More information: The demo is being held to garner community and elected official support for a regional electric-assist bike share system in the Eagle Valley.

AVON — The Climate Action Collaborative, in partnership with Eagle County ECO Transit and Walking Mountains Science Center, has announced an electric-assist bike share demonstration for the Eagle County community, Wednesday, Aug. 8, through Friday, Aug. 10, at Avon Town Station in Avon.

E-bike share provider Bewegen will be on site to facilitate the free, large-scale demo, which will provide an opportunity for the general public and county officials to not only take a spin on an e-bike, but also visualize what an e-bike share program could look like in Eagle County.

Successful e-bike share programs are already commonplace in many communities, including Park City, Utah.



“We are hoping to garner some real interest from the community through this e-bike share demonstration,” said Kim Schlaepfer, project manager for the Climate Action Collaborative.

“Electric-assist bikes have a much smaller footprint than a car, and by getting more people on bikes and out of their cars, we can have a big impact on local transportation emissions. A communitywide system would increase multimodal transportation access to our various towns and neighborhoods that don’t have reliable alternative transportation options, plus they are fun to ride.”

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The Transportation Working Group of the Climate Action Collaborative has been working on a vision to launch a regional e-bike bike share system to increase multimodal transportation options and connectivity in and between Eagle Valley communities. Electric-assist bikes are ideal for this community, given the hilly terrain and linear nature of our valley.

“The average trip around Park City in their e-bike share programs to date has been 4.2 miles and the system has been primarily used for work and errands. Given the distance between communities like Avon, Vail and Edwards and the abundance of bike paths and bike lanes we believe a comparable program here could be very popular,” said Schlapfer.

Way to reach Climate Action Plan Goals

E-bike also have a very small carbon footprint compared to other transportation options and can help the community reach its Climate Action Plan goals of a 25 percent reduction in carbon pollution by 2025 and 80 percent reduction by 2050.

According to the 2014 Eagle County Energy Inventory, transportation from vehicles accounts for roughly 27 percent of current carbon pollution in Eagle County. An e-bike generates 92 percent fewer emissions on average than driving a single-occupancy vehicle and 62 percent fewer emissions than taking the bus. Currently, it is estimated that 71 percent of Eagle County residents drive alone to work every day.

After the demo community members are invited to participate in a short survey so the Climate Action Collaborative can learn more about their experience and the locations in the Eagle Valley that could be utilized for an e-bike share program.


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