A dramatic plan to promote bike-sharing–city-owned bikes stashed around the city for residents to use–kicks off today. The Forum For Urban Design has made 30 bikes available, reports the New York Times, through Monday in the East Village, West Village, Chelsea and SoHo.

Reports William Neuman:

“This is a really big deal,” said Wiley Norvell, a spokesman for Transportation Alternatives, an advocacy group for cyclists, pedestrians and transit riders. “In the realm of things you can do to boost bicycling in a city, bike-share is at the top of the list.”

Similar programs are also in motion in Paris and Washington. Participants pay a small annual membership fee, then have access to bikes stationed strategically all over the city.

Vital city officials appear to be on board.

“We’re really just dipping our toe in the water here, but it works in an awful lot of places, so we want to see what we can do here,” said the city transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan. “We’re a world-class city for biking. We’re flat, we’re dense, it’s ideal and I think we can create a world-class bike network.”