WEST ROGERS PARK — The upcoming expansion of the Divvy bike-sharing program on the Far North Side will bridge "us all the way from Western Avenue to the beach," said resident and cycling enthusiast John Brophy.
Brophy, 30, said the popular program, which has seen more than 1 million rides since its inception, couldn't come to the city's far-flung neighborhoods soon enough.
"I'm just glad we have it," he said.
Ald. Debra Silverstein (50th), a representative from the city's Transportation Department and residents in West Rogers Park met to learn more about the expansion, which plans to bring as many as 17 bike stations to Rogers Park and West Rogers Park.
So far, stations won't expand north of Touhy Avenue or west of Western Avenue in the neighborhood.
The extensive program, which includes 300 stations and 3,000 bikes citywide, has been slowly growing outward from the Loop.
CDOT plans to install 175 more stations by the end of the year, said Morgan Whitcomb, a consultant with Sam Schwartz Engineering, which was hired to help with the expansion.
The stations on the Far North Side should be in place by the end of the summer.
"It's very exciting to get Divvy up here," said Silverstein, whose ward only partially extends east of Western. "Hopefully, the program will expand further west; then we'll be getting even more."
The proposed 50th Ward stations are:
• Ridge Avenue and Pratt Boulevard (south of Pratt, west of Ridge, in the golf course parking lot, facing northeast)
• Western and Albion avenues (north side of sidewalk in Warren Park, east of Western, facing northeast)
• Western and Granville avenues (north side of Granville, east of Western, facing east)
• Western and Lunt avenues (south side of Lunt, west of Western, facing west)
A full map of proposed stations in Rogers Park and West Rogers Park:
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