Spring continues to slowly wheel in: Hubway returns to South Station

I know Cambridge or somerville owns the racks and bikes also

OK issue solved! It's owned by the city!

And yet I still use hubway sometimes. (And the T and Cars.) 1-2 parking spots to go to hundreds of people benefiting per day instead of just a few? Sure seems like a good use of limited space to me.

The problem with putting them on the sidewalk is that you encourage people to ride on the sidewalk, hubway users need to lift the bike over to curb and/or around parked cars and many sidewalks are too narrow. The city does put many of the racks on sidewalks, such as North/South stations. But when there is limited sidewalk space the street makes a lot more sense.

The better question is why is a large chunk [6' x 8'] of city property only going to a few users per day at $1.25/hour (daytime, free at night) when it can be used by so many more people as a hubway spot or parklette. Or alternatively why isn't the city charging market rates for these spots for drivers.

I'd would estimate that about 65% of the Hubway stations are in auto parking spaces and the rest up on the sidewalk. (Note that the huge ones at North and South station are on the sidewalk.) If your point is that more of them should be on the sidewalk when possible, then I completely agree. With that said, if the street is the only option, then eating up one or two auto spots to fit Hubway is a fair trade-off.

Each station goes through a long vetting process by the city and other stakeholders before being placed, and they're sometimes relocated after the fact. When possible, both Hubway and the city usually prefer to locate stations off-street. Hubway prefers off-street because it makes snow removal easier and prevents drivers from accidentally bumping it, and the city certainly prefers keeping more parking spaces available.

But they also have to be careful not to make sidewalks too narrow, and they want to locate Hubway near activity centers where it's convenient to get to and use. It's like a bus stop - the station has to be where people want to go.

Interestingly, Cambridge managed to place every single Hubway station (except one) off-street, and that's a big part of why it's practical for them to keep the system open through the winter. That's a testament to how many plazas and wide sidewalks Cambridge has.

Why have parks at all? Just pave over the Common and turn it into a parking lot and let the money roll in. And then fill in the Charles river and add more lanes to Memorial Drive. We can't stop until every square inch is for drivers use only.

No it's not.

Hubway is a private business. Last time I checked, trees, trashcans or benches were not a a private business, and were owned by the city. See the difference?

Your comment is a idiotic one because it just doesn't make any sense except for a jab at me.