FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Fayetteville’s Transportation Committee on June 24 heard a presentation on a proposed LaneShift e-bike workshop for elected officials and city decision-makers and indicated interest in moving the topic to an agenda session for broader council awareness and scheduling.

The proposal, presented by staff and recommended by the Active Transportation Advisory Committee (ATAC), would bring a local firm called LaneShift to offer a one-day, hands-on e-bike workshop for up to 13 participants. The presenter said LaneShift is "headed by Ryan Hale" and operates with a trailer of e-bikes and a Sprinter van to support field-based training.

Transportation staff said the training would be paid from revenue collected through e-scooter permits and deposited into a mobility support fund, not from the city’s general fund. "The most it's ever brought in is around $80,000, but not all that money goes into the…mobility budget. That's I think we have it at 30,000 a year," staff said when asked about average annual permit revenue.

Staff described the workshop as focused on experiencing bike infrastructure, learning about different kinds of facilities and seeing examples from neighboring communities. The ATAC recommendation to the transportation committee was to forward the proposal for possible agenda-session discussion and scheduling; there was no formal motion to commit funds or to register attendees at the meeting.

Committee members expressed support for placing the item on an agenda session so more council members could hear details and consider participation. Staff said they would follow up on possible dates (staff suggested September or October as options) and could arrange for LaneShift or participants who had attended prior tours to speak at an agenda session.

The committee did not take formal action to approve the workshop or to register participants; next steps are staff follow-up on scheduling and placement of an agenda-session presentation for City Council consideration.