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Broomfield joins regional memorandum of understanding to seek docked e‑bike program
Summary
Council approved a multi‑jurisdictional MOU to pursue a phased, station‑based electric bike share program in the Northwest Denver metro region and to issue a regional RFP; a state grant will fund an initial pilot phase.
Broomfield City and County Council voted unanimously to join regional partners in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to pursue a docked electric bicycle‑share system across the Northwest Denver metro area.
Staff told the council the MOU is limited to cooperative work on a regional request for proposals (RFP); it does not commit the city to buy equipment or operations. Sarah Grant, Broomfield’s transportation manager, said the MOU asks Longmont to lead an RFP and that participating jurisdictions will review vendor proposals together. “This MOU only requires staff time and there are no direct costs associated with participating in the memorandum of understanding,” Grant said.
The regional application for the state’s Community Accelerated Mobility Program (CAMP) grant received $150,000 for a pilot phase; Grant said Broomfield’s share of the CAMP award is estimated at about $350,000 with a 5% local match and that additional funds will be needed to build a broader network. The staff presentation cited prior community outreach showing about 75% of Broomfield survey respondents viewed an e‑bike system as a benefit and 60% said they would use bike share to access transit.
Councilors and residents asked practical questions about scale, costs and vendor reliability. Council Member Cohen asked whether the RFP will require vendors to disclose capital and operating costs per station; Grant said the RFP will ask vendors to identify capital and operating cost models, phased deployment plans, and examples of similar systems. Residents raised concerns about whether Broomfield would be bound if a regional vendor was chosen, how many stations the pilot would include, and what would happen if a vendor later ceased operations. Grant said those implementation issues would be resolved later and brought back to council before any local contract was executed.
Ending: Council approved the MOU and authorized staff to participate in the regional RFP process; staff will return to council for approval if a vendor and a Broomfield contract are proposed.
