Discussions Under Way To Bring Citi Bike To Upper East, West Sides
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Citi Bike is looking to expand northward into the Upper East and West sides.
As WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported, a public hearing was held Thursday evening so people could weigh in on the proposal. Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal (D-6th) said the goal was to hear from people who would be affected by the expansion.
Opinions were being sought from people "who experience the street conditions every day who are really going to know where the docking stations should go and where they shouldn't," she said.
The expansion of the Citi Bike program could reach as far north as Harlem.
"There is tremendous interest in it," said Manhattan Community Board 7 Chairwoman Elizabeth Caputo. "We're really excited to make it work."
The expansion could take effect as early as this spring or summer.
Currently, Citi Bike has docking stations in Manhattan from Battery Park north to the south end of Central Park, and in Brooklyn from Williamsburg south to the Barclays Center area.
Officials have said they also plan to bring Citi Bike to Queens, including Long Island City and Astoria; and several other neighborhoods in Brooklyn, including Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Park Slope, and Carroll Gardens.
Discussions have also been launched on bringing Citi Bike to Jersey City, in a plan that would allow riders to dock their bikes at PATH train stations in Jersey City and then hop on another bike when they arrive in Manhattan.
Citi Bike will celebrate its two-year anniversary in May.
The bike-share program has had its share of issues since it launched, from controversy over the loss of parking spots to the cost for daily and hourly riders.
But Citi Bike users have also ridden tens of millions of miles, and the private investor group that bought Citi Bike last fall said they will double its size in the next three years.