PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Residents may notice a couple of purple bike repair stations in the downtown area.
They are called Fix It stations, and are part of the city's Bicycle Facilities Master Plan that aims to make the streets of Pittsfield multimodal.
They are located on Wendell Avenue in front of the Berkshire Antheneum and on North Street in front of the Funky Pheonix.
Bike riders can simply walk up to the public utility and fix a number of issues including flat tires and loose bolts with an air pump and tools attached to wires.
"It's part of the growing need in infrastructure for people on the road moving with a bicycle being able to repair, if necessary, their bicycles," Commissioner of Public Services and Utilities Ricardo Morales said.
"And not have it be an impediment when you have a malfunctioning bicycle or an unworkable one, not have it be an impediment that you don't have the necessary tools to repair it."
The city purchased four of the stations with funding from a Shared Streets and Spaces grant for around $2,000 each. This funding is available to municipalities and Regional Transit Authorities (RTA) for improvements to plazas, sidewalks, curbs, streets, bus stops, parking areas, and other public spaces in support of public health, safe mobility, and strengthened commerce.
In the near future, the remaining two stations will be installed on Tyler Street and near the new leg of the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail that comes out on Crane Avenue.
"It's very reassuring to be able to provide some of this stuff, and it was very good to see already some people making use of them. On passing bys I see some activity happening with them," Morales said.
"So it's reassuring when we look at our residents move around and rely more on alternative modes of transportation."
It aims to create a safe, user-friendly connected bicycle network throughout the city based on transportation factors, land use factors, and demographic factors and will be implemented over the years as the city has opportunities to add more bike accommodations to its infrastructure.
The plan has been in the works since the early 2000s but was officially launched in August 2020.
Morales added that the city is working on installing more of the Fix It stations and other facilities as the city continues to expand its bike infrastructure.
"We're adding infrastructure to our city in terms of bicycle needs, so that does not just include bike lanes," he explained.
"It's the bike lanes definitely, it's bike boxes, potentially in the future we can start seeing intersections that are incorporated with bicycle infrastructure. But then on the furniture side, we're looking for bike racks, bike lockers, bike repair stations, and that sort of thing."
A bike box is a designated area at the head of a traffic lane at a signalized intersection that gives bicyclists a safe and visible way to get ahead of queuing traffic during the red signal phase.
All of these efforts are under the umbrella of becoming a community that is less reliant on single-use vehicles for transportation. This has environmental advantages and makes transportation more accessible for those who cannot afford a car.
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Pittsfield Subcommittee Considers E-Bike Safety
By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Some city councilors want to explore ways to encourage safe e-bike use.
Amuso has received reports of kids riding motorized bikes at 15 to 20 mph on the sidewalk while people are trying to back out of their driveways, and she fears someone might get hurt.
She said that if they could start with some basics, such as riding with traffic in bike lanes and requiring operators under 16 to wear helmets, it would address most of the calls.
"Do I think we need to put 10 police on trying to find e-bikes throughout the city? I don't," she said. "But there are enough calls that I'm getting, and other councilors are getting, that we have to say, ‘OK, what can we do?’ And we have a lot of bike lanes in Pittsfield, and the e-bikes and all bikes should be in the bike lanes, not on the sidewalk."
The petition was tabled so that the Department of Public Works can study it and gather further information.
In Massachusetts, an e-bike with a top speed of 20 mph and a motor of 750 watts or less is classified as a traditional bicycle. State law defines two e-bike classes:
"Class 1 electric bicycle" is defined as having a motor of 750 watts or less that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and ceases to assist when the bicycle reaches 20 mph.
"Class 2 electric bicycle" is defined as having a motor of 750 watts or less that may be used exclusively to propel the bicycle and is not capable of assisting when the bicycle reaches 20 mph.
Riders 16 years or younger must wear a helmet by law.
