I love this. The Times reports on a social experiment that’s putting free bikes on the streets of Manhattan for people to use and return. The five-day project is sponsored by the Forum for Urban Design, with 20 bikes available at Kenmare Street and Cleveland Place in SoHo, for up to 30 minutes. Bicycles can be dropped off at a number of locations, including Washington Square Park and Tompkins Square.
The experiment ends tomorrow, and is being watched by the city’s Department of Transportation. “We are studying it with interest,” a spokesperson tells the Times.
The free bike-as-mass transit model of course works in much of Europe; a Paris program will see more than 10,000 bikes at 750 depots around the city, the Times says.
Maybe this can be my next project for Mount Pleasant.