Scooters & A Refurbished Park
City Launches New Vehicle Share & Celebrates Refurbished Gazebo Park Reopening
Wednesday proved a day for celebrating anew in Asbury Park.
The day began with a tutorial event ahead of the official Friday launch of the City’s scooter-share program and culminated with a grand opening ceremony for the newly refurbished Gazebo Park located on Bangs Avenue just west of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School.
Transportation Manager Michael Manzella said the pilot program, administered by Zagster – the City’s bicycle share vendor will operate through June 2020. On Friday, up to 250 scooters will be stationed across 30 locations in Asbury Park for riders 18 years old and over. The scooters will be available from 7 am to 9 pm at a cost of $1 plus .15 cents per minute.
The City spent a lot of time researching, talking about and figuring out ways that Asbury Park could do this successfully including going to Hoboken and meeting with their team,” Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn said. “Hoboken is the first municipality to have electric scooters in New Jersey and Asbury Park is the second. We are excited to try this mode of transportation out.”
Each scooter is equipped with GPS and is unlocked using a smartphone-based app, available via the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. SPIN scooters are dockless and must be returned to virtual parking stations, designated in the app and by markings on the sidewalk or street.
“The City encourages all riders to wear helmets when possible and to stay off the sidewalks, ride in the direction of traffic, and to share the road with pedestrians, runners, cyclists, and motorists,” Manzella said.
He said Zagster will employ 10 to 15 area residents, many of them coming from the local community. For more information, visit cityofasburypark.com/scooters.
Quinn and Councilwoman Yvonne Clayton were among the first to give the scooters a try during the Wednesday afternoon ribbon-cutting ceremony at the newly refurbished Gazebo Park., located west of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Middle School at Bangs and Atkins avenues.
The park rehab was made possible through $165,000 Community Development Block Grant [CBDG] grant, said Cassandra Dickerson, the City’s Director of Community Development. Below is a photo gallery from the mid-afternoon event that drew a crowd of community leaders and residents:
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