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Home MenuOver 5,000 E-Bike Rides Taken Since Summit Bike Share Launched One Month Ago
Program Receiving National Recognition in Bicycling Magazine
Over 5,000 E-Bike Rides Taken Since Summit Bike Share Launched
One Month Ago
Program Receiving National Recognition in Bicycling Magazine
Park City, UT (August 22, 2017) — Since its launch on July 19, over 5,000 bike trips have been taken through Summit County and Park City’s Summit Bike Share program, operated by Bewegen. Over 19,000 miles have been logged by 941 riders who have taken 5,010 trips on the electric bikes. Emissions avoided by e-bike use in just this first month are equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions from four cars driven for half a year.
“Using U.S. Department of Transportation data, the combined fuel economy of cars and light trucks is 21.6 miles per gallon. Assuming the bikes effectively displaced 880 gallons of fuel, that would equate to preventing 7.8 metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions from entering the atmosphere,” said Lisa Yoder, Summit County sustainability manager.
Nine stations for the electric bikes are located throughout the Snyderville Basin and within the Park City limits. Initial results show the most active stations are Park Avenue, Newpark Plaza and the Old Town Transit Center. Six of the stations have credit card readers allowing riders paying with a credit card to pay for up to four bike rentals at a time. The convenient Summit Bike Share app gives riders the ability to purchase weekly or monthly passes, become a Go Passholder, check the status of any station in real-time, start the timer and get an alert before needing to return the e-bike, and keep track of previous rides and total miles traveled.
As this may be the first experience on an electric bicycle for locals and visitors, ensuring a safe ride is essential. Summit Bike Share offers the following guidelines:
Plan your Route
Choose the most bike-friendly route by checking the Summit Bike Share Map or App. Certain paths can be challenging, so we’ve recommended popular routes for a more comfortable ride.
Inspect your Bike
Safety first - check that your e-bike is in top shape before going for a ride:
- Check the charge on the dashboard. If the screen is blank, wake the bike up by pressing the horn.
- Adjust the seat height to the perfect fit.
- Check the tire pressure by squeezing the tires. Low or flat? Check out another bike.
- Ensure that both brakes work by giving them a squeeze.
- Riding at night? Make sure the front and back lights are flashing.
Please Wear a Helmet
While it’s not a requirement to wear a helmet, Summit Bike Share strongly encourages helmet use to reduce the probability of a head injury in the event of an accident.
Choose an appropriate type and size for your head. Take the time to adjust your helmet correctly: it should sit level on your head and not move forward or backward. You should be able to put no more than two fingers in the space between the chinstrap and your skin.
Respect the Road
Bikes need to follow the same rules as vehicles: stop at traffic lights and signs, avoid going down one-way streets, and walk your bike when on sidewalks. Ride on bike paths whenever possible. When riding on transportation trails, do not go faster than 14.5 miles per hour.
Be Careful and Respectful
- While riding in traffic, keep your distance from other vehicles.
- Try to stay three feet away from parked cars. The driver/passenger may open their door unexpectedly when exiting their vehicle.
- Make yourself visible and be confident to take the full lane when needed.
- Keep eyes out for pedestrians crossing the street.
- Pay attention to obstacles on the road: potholes, sewer grates, and railroad tracks can be dangerous when bicycling.
Be Predictable
- Don’t make sudden turns and stops, and be sure to signal your intentions with proper arm signals.
- Signal when you intend to stop, slow or turn.
- Check behind you before turning to be sure there are no oncoming vehicles.
- Make eye contact with other road and pathway users to ensure they see you and register your turning signals.
The Summit Bike Share program is attracting national attention, including a nod from Bicycling magazine. As the Bicycling article points out, “while some cities in the US, such as Baltimore, Maryland, and Birmingham, Alabama, have integrated pedal-assist bikes into their existing bike-share programs, Park City has become the first to create a fleet consisting entirely of e-bikes. Bewegen, the vendor for the bikes and docking stations, found that in Baltimore pedal-assist bikes are checked out three times more often than regular bikes, further cementing Park City's belief that their fleet should be all-electric.”
The Summit Bike Share program is supported by the “Let’s Go Summit” transportation tax initiative. Phase One of the program introduces 88 electric-assist (“pedelec”) bikes among nine stations throughout Synderville Basin and the Park City limits, with Phase Two planned to open summer 2018. The program’s pedelec bikes have a low center of gravity and high-capacity brakes, ensuring high stability, durability, and safety are appropriate for all ages and ability levels. The relaxed ergonomics and upright, semi-flatfoot riding position provide a safe, comfortable ride, and the DynaMe Propulsion motor ensures riders arrive at your destination quickly and without breaking a sweat, offering a viable alternative to driving a personal vehicle. Transportation officials from both Summit County and Park City hope the electric bike sharing option will encourage residents and visitors to make short transportation trips without use of a private vehicle.
For more information, or to sign up as a Summit Bike Share member, please visit www.summitbikeshare.com.
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Media Contacts:
Krachel Greenwood
Community and Public Affairs Coordinator
Summit County, UT
kgreenwood@summitcounty.org
801-699-4582
Linda Jager
Community Engagement Manager
Park City Municipal Corporation
linda.jager@parkcity.org
435-901-2311
Departments » Sustainability » For Homes
Cleaning Supplies
When looking for natural and non-toxic cleaning products, avoid anything with synthetic ingredients or fragrances, petrochemicals, VOCs, chlorine bleach, phthalates, formaldehydes and more. You should always read the labels of any product, and if a product does not have a label with ingredients then it almost surely has harmful chemicals inside. Look out for words like Caution, Warning, Notice and Danger, which could signal a potential harmful chemical. Learn more about healthy cleaning products here.
When purchasing natural cleaning products make sure they bottle includes a list of ingredients. You should be able to pronounce the names of all of them and should know exactly what each one is. The best kind of natural cleaning product you can buy should be made with simple ingredients that you could find in the store and make yourself.
Exposure to these toxins indoors can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches; loss of coordination; nausea; and damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous systems. And we certainly don't want ourselves, our family or our pets to come in contact with these toxins or experience any of these health problems. Children and pets are especially at risk because they experience a higher dose of toxins, not to mention their immune systems are still developing and not able to shed toxins from the bodies as quickly as adults.
There are three categories into which most of the hazardous ingredients in household cleaning products fall are:
1. Carcinogens – Carcinogens cause cancer and/or promote cancer’s growth.
2. Endocrine disruptors – Endocrine disruptors mimic human hormones, confusing the body with false signals. Exposure to endocrine disruptors can lead to numerous health concerns including reproductive, developmental, growth and behavior problems. Endocrine disruptors have been linked to reduced fertility, premature puberty, miscarriage, menstrual problems, challenged immune systems, abnormal prostate size, ADHD, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and certain cancers.
3. Neurotoxins – Neurotoxins alter neurons, affecting brain activity, causing a range of problems from headaches to loss of intellect.
Here are some startling facts about the chemicals found in cleaning products.
- 17,000: the number of petrochemicals available for home use, only 30 percent of which have been tested for exposure to human health and the environment.
- 63: the number of synthetic chemical products found in the average American home, translating to roughly 10 gallons of harmful chemicals.
- 100: the number of times higher that indoor air pollution levels can be above outdoor air pollution levels, according to US EPA estimates.
- 275: the number of active ingredients in antimicrobials that the EPA classifies as pesticides because they are designed to kill microbes.
- 5 billion: the number of pounds of chemicals that the institutional cleaning industry uses each year.
- 23: the average gallons of chemicals (that's 87 liters) that a janitor uses each year, 25 percent of which are hazardous.
- White Vinegar
- Baking Soda
- Borax
- Hydrogen Peroxide (3% concentration)
- Club Soda (plain)
- Lemon Juice
- Liquid Castile Soap
- Corn Meal
- Olive Oil or Walnut Oil
- Toothpaste
- Pure Essential Oils - like lavender, lavender, peppermint, eucalyptus, lemongrass, and tea tree oils
With all of these ingredients you can make your own natural and non-toxic cleaning supplies, which cost a lot less as well.
- All-Purpose Cleaners: This cleaner can be used for just about every surface in your home, from kitchen counters and appliances to bathroom surfaces and walls.
- Carpet Cleaner: To clean and disinfect your carpet, blend 1/2 cup baking soda, 1 cup borax, and 1 cup cornmeal. Sprinkle mixture over rug and rub with a cloth. Let rest for several hours or overnight, then vacuum. An even simpler way to clean your carpet is to sprinkly plain baking soda on your carpet, let rest for an hour and then vacuum up. You can also add dry lavender buds to the baking soda for an extra fresh smell.
- Hard Floor Cleaner: This solution can be used for all hard floors (except when directed by the manufacturer to avoid even mild detergents): Combine 1/4 liquid castile soap, up to 1/2 cup white vinegar or lemon juice, and 2 gallons of warm water in a large plastic bucket. Use with a mop or sponge.
- Glass Cleaner: To make your windows shine, you can simply use club soda in a spray bottle. Add 1 tsp. of lemon juice to increase your window cleaner’s degreasing power. Leftover newspaper works very well to reduce streaks
- Bathroom Surface Cleaners: You can use the all-purpose cleaners recommended above or, for even simpler bathroom cleaning, use baking soda or borax as a scouring powder. For a softer scrub, combine 1/2 cup baking soda with enough liquid soap to achieve a frosting-like consistency. You may want to add 5-10 drops of an essential oil for fragrance. Club soda works wonders on plumbing fixtures.
- Toilet Cleaner: Sprinkle baking soda or borax, or pour white vinegar into the toilet, and let sit for a few minutes. Scrub with a good toilet brush.
- Oven Cleaner: Cover the oven floor with baking soda, spray with water until very damp, and let set overnight. Spray with water every few hours before you go to bed to keep damp. In the morning, clean out the baking soda, and the stuck-on gunk will be loosened and ready to scrub off.
- Drain Cleaner: Put two tablespoons of baking soda into/over the drain of your sink or tub. Then pour one cup of vinegar on the baking soda. This will begin to fizz a lot and is completely normal. Wait a few minutes, and then pour a kettle of boiling water over the soda/vinegar residue.
- Mold Remover: Combe 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide or white vinegar with 1 cup water. Spray on mold and do not rinse. You can also treat mold with a spray mixture of 2 tsp. tea tree oil and 2 cups water.
- Wood Polish: To polish wood furniture, dab olive oil or walnut oil onto a soft cloth and rub.
- Silver Polish: Just put some toothpaste on an old toothbrush or wet cloth and go to town. When you’re done polishing, rinse the item well in warm water and then dry with a soft cloth.