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Ever find yourself humming, "Beverly Hills, that's where I want to bike?" If you do - and who doesn't - the city just started rolling out a bike share service to make your dreams reality.
Beverly Hills' new rental bike system, similar to Citi Bike in New York and the bike system Santa Monica started last year, lets you check out a bicycle from a designated station and ride it around town for up to 60 minutes, and then dock it in any other designated parking spot. The city is starting small with two stations and just a few bikes to get feedback, but it's free until April 22. After that, the city plans to open up 10 stations with 100 bikes and start charging for it.
While the bike share system might make Beverly Hills a little more two-wheel friendly, the ever-provincial community's homeowners have a long-running antipathy towards bikers. Last year, the city council scotched a no-brainer plan to add bike lanes to Santa Monica Boulevard, even though the council's own committee for street improvement pushed for it. And yet, now the city wants to rent bikes to tourists without adding bike lanes on major streets. What could go wrong?
Anyway, here's a map of the two stations the city has open now. Wear your helmet!
