A presentation on a new Bluebikes expansion plan, held Nov. 7 at Joseph P. Tynan Elementary School in South Boston, was cut short due to continual audience interruptions.

“When are you going to start enforcing the rules of the road?” asked an unidentified man while the City of Boston’s Streets Cabinet presenter Kim Foltz spoke. The man continued his outbursts, joined by other audience members agitated by the interruption. 

The impassioned man stormed out of the cafeteria. Shortly after, both supporters and adversaries of the plan debated how the proposal would impact the community of South Boston. 

The proposal follows the city’s announcement in fall 2023 that Bluebikes, Boston’s bike share system, would add 100 new stations across all Boston neighborhoods. 

During Phase 1 of the plan, in fall 2023, Bluebikes installed eight new stations in Mattapan and Dorchester and added 31 docks to existing stations. During Phase 2A, in summer 2024, Bluebikes chose 25 new station locations across Bay Village, Beacon Hill, Chinatown, Downtown, North End, South End, West End and Wharf District. Starting in mid-September, Bluebikes began securing permits and installing the stations.

The proposal is currently in Phase 2B, targeting South Boston, the Waterfront, East Boston and Charlestown. South Boston, the host of the open house, and the Waterfront could see as many as 14 additional stations, hoping to reduce the amount of area that is more than five minutes away from the nearest station. 

The Bluebikes expansion plan is also an effort to reduce the number of “lost trips,” a term that refers to a trip that did not occur because there were no bikes available at the station. Data for the Bluebike Station Siting Project found that numerous stations in residential South Boston had over 50 lost trips a week. 

However, some residents of South Boston question just how badly the neighborhood needs these new stations.

“The population of South Boston is over 33,000 — only 800 people have registered for Bluebikes,” said local Bridget Nee-Walsh. She said she is also concerned that these stations will occupy parking spaces. 

“The senior citizens need that parking,” Nee-Walsh said. “They’re punishing car owners. If you’re not 22 years old and take a bike to work but have three kids, how are you going to hockey, how are you food shopping?”

Foltz, a senior bike share and active transportation planner for Bluebikes, said that the bike stations will ultimately service more people.

“If we need to help move people, help give people options to get around the city, then taking those two car spaces and turning them into 15 bike spaces can make a lot of sense,” she said.  

Foltz also said that when possible, Bluebikes tries to “identify locations that are off street parking.” 

However, Richard Evans, another South Boston resident, expressed his concerns over stations on sidewalks. 

“You’re creating a hazard for people on wheelchairs, families with carriages and young kids,” Evans said. “It’s just too dangerous.” 

Community members, including Evans, had specific doubts about a proposed station that would be located directly outside the South Boston Vietnam Memorial. On a printout photo of the site, an incensed citizen wrote, “Hell no! Sacrilegious!” 

Despite the criticism, there were also many supporters of the proposal in attendance, including Sam Klugherz, a Northeastern graduate student studying urban planning and policy. 

“I’m here because the Bluebikes system is a network,” Klugherz said. “I live somewhere else, and if I want to come here and go to a restaurant, or enjoy the beach, I Bluebike here, and when there are more stations it’s easier to enjoy the amenities.”

As Klugherz suggests, many Bluebikes users will use the bikes to travel across neighborhoods. In July 2023, 97% of trips to the W Broadway @ D St bike station — South Boston’s most frequently used station — were from out of the neighborhood. 

“Bluebikes is public transportation by bike,” Foltz said. “It allows people to get around the city quickly, affordably, conveniently and in a fun way. We want to make sure that it is an option for residents in every neighborhood.”