WASHINGTON (AP) - The National Park Service is moving closer to a deal with city officials to extend the popular Capital Bikeshare program to allow bicycle sharing stations on the National Mall.

Continue reading

The District of Columbia and Arlington, Va., have opened more than 100 bike sharing stations over the past year. But the National Mall has been a large void in the bike-sharing terrain.

The National Park Service has cited its existing contracts and concerns that the stations would encroach on historical properties.

National Mall spokeswoman Carol Johnson tells The Washington Post (http://wapo.st/qybKYg) there are more issues to resolve but that they hope to extend bike sharing to the mall by early next year.

Officials must still determine who will pay for the new stations. They are $50,000 each with additional maintenance costs.

---
Information from: http://www.washingtonpost.com