A Washington, D.C. bike advocacy organization is urging people to ride into the nation’s capital next month and is offering free bicycle parking to do so.
The Washington Area Bicyclist Association plans to offer two valet bicycle parking stations on January 20. Volunteers will watch over bicycles while people attend the inauguration festivities for incoming President Barack Obama, the Associated Press is reporting.
The group is proposing two D.C. parking sites, one at McPherson Square and a second near the Jefferson Memorial. Racks are being loan for the event by Minneapolis company Dero Bike Racks. Riders wouldn’t need a lock and would receive a commemorative ticket to reclaim the bike, a group spokesman said.
As many as 2 million people are expected to descend on the District of Columbia for the swearing-in ceremonies for Obama. Transportation officials anticipate crowded subway cars and congested roadways. They have encouraged event attendees to walk.
Bicycles will not be permitted within a security perimeter near the ceremony, nor on Metrorail, the AP reported.
WABA already is signing up volunteers and seeking RSVPs for the bike service to get a sense of how many people might use it.
Above, an Associated Press photographer took this photo of Obama riding a bicycle in Chicago in June. Obama was on a ride with his family.
