Capital Bikeshare will expand to the Mall

The Post has the story. This is fantastic news. 

There are still a number of issues we need to work out, but we are hoping we can resolve those issues so we can start it up early next year,” said Carol Johnson, a spokeswoman for the National Mall and Memorials Park branch of the National Park Service. “Earlier, we were looking at whether they can get on the Mall, but now we are looking for a way to get them on the Mall.”

District officials caution that it will would be at least several months before any new stations are opened on the Mall. Among the issues that still have to be resolved, the city and federal government must decide who would pay for the new stations.

But to expedite the approval process for new stations on the Mall, Holben said the District would probably be willing to pay for the installation so long as the Park Service helps with maintenance costs.

Best of all

But Holben suggested new stations could be located near the Smithsonian museums or Hains Point or at a location closer to the athletic fields on the western side of the Mall. He is also optimistic that the Park Service will also allow bicycle stations to be located on its property in other areas of the city, including Rock Creek Park or Fort Circle Park Recreation Trail in Southeast.

Comments

[Shawn]

If not directly near the monuments, than at least where car parking already exists. For instance, for proximity to Jefferson/MLK/FDR, put a large station near the baseball fields.

Good news. Can we get more bike racks, too?

[Michael H.]

Wait a minute. Today isn't April 1st, is it? Really? Very cool news.

I'm glad to see that the lobbying campaign by CaBi users, WABA, bloggers and area residents made a difference. This really is a no-brainer. The stations on the Mall will bring in a lot of revenue from visitors who buy 1-day and 5-day passes. There might be some bike balancing issues at first, but that's a problem that most people would be glad to have in return for having CaBi stations on the Mall and in East Potomac Park.

I hope they take their time to plan out the installation carefully. No rush to get it done by January. There won't be too many people using the bikes in mid-winter anyway. I would like to see them get some of the stations installed before spring though. Preferably before the Cherry Blossom Festival.

[JeffB]

Whenever I chat with tourists at the CaBi stations around town they inevitably make 2 comments:

1) The LOVE CaBi and how easy it makes getting around town!

2) They just can't understand why there are NO stations on the mall!

P.S. - the trolls are out on the Post comments in force. Worth reading for the laughs.