Rich City Rides presents three-site options as ebike lending library costs outpace available TCC funds

Najari Smith, founding executive director of Rich City Rides, presented three site and delivery options for the planned ebike lending library and urged the committee to weigh cost, timeline and safety concerns.

"The structure will include a bathroom. It could be staffed throughout the week," Najari said while describing Option 1, a purpose-built, city-owned 1,440-square-foot facility on 17th Street along the Richmond Greenway. He said Option 2 would retrofit 1434 McDonald Avenue (about 4,500 sq ft; the library would use roughly 2,500 sq ft) and Option 3 would adapt an existing building at 1525 Ohio Avenue (about 1,300 sq ft).

The presentations included specific cost estimates: Najari and staff said Option 1 now costs about $2.7–$2.8 million; Option 2 is roughly $900,000; and Option 3 about $1,300,000. City staff noted the TCC funds currently available for the project are about $2.2 million, so none of the options can be built at present without additional funding. The city said it will ask the City Council to consider releasing ECIA funds to cover any shortfall.

Community members asked practical questions about placement and services. One participant asked whether the McDonald site is close to existing Rich City Rides operations and transit; Najari said 1434 McDonald sits within two blocks of the Richmond BART station and adjacent to previous bike retail activity, which supports access to transit. Community commenters also asked whether the hub could offer public bike repair and broader micro-mobility services; Najari said the program hopes to expand into repairs and workshops but the initial design is focused on meeting the library’s lending goals.

City staff flagged technical concerns that affect siting and retrofit: battery storage, fire-safety requirements and ADA access will influence renovation costs and timelines. The committee did not vote on a preferred option; Najari said the project team will present the alternatives to City Council to seek additional ECIA funding and will return to the CSC with updated estimates.

Next step: the city and Rich City Rides will take the three-option proposal to City Council to request ECIA funding and report back to the CSC with firm estimates and council direction.