Town of Acton to Share in $187,450 State Grant to Implement Bike Sharing Program

ACTON — Town Manager John S. Mangiaratti announces that the Town of Acton will share in a $187,450 grant from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) to implement a bike share program. 

The grant will be divided among Acton, Concord, Maynard, and Lincoln.

The Town of Acton will use the funding to implement a three-year regional bike share program. The program will consist of seven stations and 42 bikes, including seven adaptive bikes across the four communities. These bikes can be used for recreational purposes or to commute to and from one of the four commuter rail stations along the bike share’s route. 

The program stations will be located at Brook Street, Concord Road/East Acton Village Green, and the South Acton Commuter Lot Station.

Making bikes accessible to residents increases bike connections across the region while improving the Town’s health, equity, and environmental preservation. The program also aims to improve access to existing public transportation.

MassDOT awarded $6.5 million in funding to 28 municipalities and two Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs) as part of the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s Shared Streets and Spaces Program. The program provides project funding to help municipalities design and implement changes to curbs, streets, and parking areas in support of public health, safe mobility, and community growth and revitalization. 

The four towns applied for the grant after the success of the 2023 Minuteman Bike Share pilot program, in the hopes of closing last mile connections to public transportation and lowering emissions in the transportation sector by decreasing community-wide dependency on vehicles.

“This funding is essential in expanding our efforts to provide accessible recreation and transportation options to our community,” said Town Manager Mangiaratti. “Residents received the pilot program positively, and we are happy to be able to continue and expand this program.”