EDWARDSVILLE - Heading into the new year, the Bike Factory is trying to help the community keep some of their resolutions to become healthier and more environmentally-friendly with the implementation of a new a bike share program.

Alec Macdonald, from the Bike Factory, said with multiple docking stations housing cruiser-style bicycles around the city, the share program will allow members of the community to pick up a bike, ride it wherever they need to and then leave it a docking location for another rider to be able to use.

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"The idea is to have bicycle substations around Edwardsville where people can just hop on a bicycle, ride it around and then park it in a different substation," he said.

Macdonald said the goal is to have the program launched in March or April with at least dozen bikes spread out between the substations and community support has been tremendous. "It's just a matter of making everything safe, practical and putting a concrete plan in place," he said.

"What we're hoping to do is start out with somewhere between 12 to 20 bicycles and, depending on what local ordinances will allow, we want to them at key places that would be most useful to the community," Macdonald said. "For example the bus station is a good area, also locations kind of on the outskirts of town where people may need to get to the bus station or to the university. At least four primary locations is what we're looking for. That will create an avenue for people to hop on a bike maybe ride it to school, out to the university, to the bus station or where ever they need to."

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With over 85 miles of bike trails already being used by cyclist through the Madison County Transit bike ways, Macdonald said the city of Edwardsville is a great place to commute on bike.

"Here in Edwardsville it's set up so user friendly to commute on bicycles," he said. "However, things are just far enough apart, it's tricky to do it all on foot or with public transportation. So, that's kind of what the bike share idea is about, just to help people in the community get around a little easier with no obligation, to further promote eco-friendly means of transportation and the health and wellness ambitions of the cycling community."

In addition to benefiting the commuters, the potential health benefits programs such as this one can create for future generations is substantial. Growing up in a community that provides services like a bike share program and normalizes habits such as commuting on a bike is something that Macdonald believes sticks with a person.

"I've been commuting on a bicycle for decades," he said. "When the community starts to change it's way of thinking a little, it's interesting what happens. People start to think healthier, they start to think more about the environment. I can testify that it has kept me healthy, more interested in fitness and all my cycling friends are the same way. We just want to continue to ride and pursue a healthier lifestyle, there's a lot of people like that, it's good for this community."

Macdonald said the goal is to make the bikes free for each rider, with the Bike Factory keeping regular maintenance on all of the provided bicycles.

Not only is the Bike Factory anticipating the share program to be implemented in early spring, they are also making the move to 616 Franklin Avenue on Monday, January 1.

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