Committee okays expansion of bike-sharing program

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- The Milwaukee Common Council's Public Works Committee voted unanimously on Wednesday, December 4th to approve the expansion of the city's public bike-sharing system.

Working in partnership with the State of Wisconsin and the nonprofit Midwest BikeShare, Milwaukee would expand upon the single bike-sharing kiosk currently in operation near Discovery World, beginning in the central city and moving outward into neighborhoods. It would allow the creation of 28 more bike-sharing kiosks by the end of 2014.

The program would be made possible by a grant agreement with the state. In that agreement, the city would contribute $320,000 toward the project in order to secure almost $1.3 million in Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program funds.

The full Common Council is expected to take up the resolution at its meeting on December 17th.