CITY HALL — The mayor endorsed use of the Divvy bike-sharing program over the winter, but urged riders to use caution in tough conditions.
"I think it's safe," Mayor Rahm Emanuel said at a news conference Wednesday following the City Council meeting. "People have to use their own judgment. They have to do it whether it's winter, spring, summer or fall. You have to ride safely.
"So I understand the conditions are rough out there, are different," he added. "So you have to use your own caution ... related to that."
The mayor said that, in its first year, Divvy had already become one of the largest bike-sharing programs in the world. "The city and the tourists as well as the residents have taken to it in a very successful way," Emanuel said.
He also pointed to how the city is seeking input on where to put new stations.
Yet, he allowed this is the first winter for the program, and asked reporters to check back with him in April to assess how it performs over the Chicago winter.
"We'll expand it and continue to urge proper use of it in a healthy way," Emanuel said.
