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Cleveland has the right stuff for a bike-sharing program, according to a preliminary study that says the city could support a system of up to 1,400 rental bikes docked at as many as 140 stations. Shown here are some of the more than 20,000 shared bikes available in Paris.

(Dominic Bonuccelli, Website Tribune Media Services)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The city of Cleveland's

of bikeways topped the news out of Bike Cleveland's annual meeting on Sunday.

But the city and the advocacy group for cyclists also are exploring another project that would add a different type of bike-friendliness to Northeast Ohio -- a bike-share network that would let riders borrow and return bicycles to self-serve stations scattered across Cleveland.

The city could support a system of 770 to 1,400 rental bikes based at between 77 and 140 stations in five neighborhoods, according to findings of an initial study of the idea conducted for Cleveland's Office of Sustainability.

The proposal calls for a dual-core setup with hubs in downtown Cleveland and University Circle, followed by an expansion of bike-sharing stations into the Midtown, Ohio City and Tremont neighborhoods. These locations were expected to offer the highest potential demand for bike sharing.

"This is preliminary research that used demographic, economic and density data, along with community feedback, to come to this conclusion," said the chief of the sustainability office, Jenita McGowan.

McGowan said it will take a more thorough review to determine how a bike-sharing system would operate, who would run it and how much it would cost.

The Bike Share Task Force -- made up of McGowan's office and a dozen agencies and neighborhood groups, including the Downtown Cleveland Alliance and University Circle Inc. -- is in the midst of more detailed planning that examine those factors.

"Bike sharing is a great addition to a city's transportation options and a great way to make riding a bicycle accessible for everyone," said Jacob VanSickle, head of Bike Cleveland.

If Cleveland embraces a bike-share program, it will join a growing number of urban centers in the United States, Europe and Asia that have adopted the hybrid of biking and public transportation.

Bike sharing lets users check out a heavy-duty, durable bike for a fee, say $6, or by using an annual membership. They ride from one automated checkout station to another station that is nearest their destination, locking the bike there for the next person to use.

The system is designed for short trips of 30 minutes or less, to keep bikes in circulation - unlike traditional rentals where you might keep the bicycle for a half-day, a day or longer. Besides being a form of public transit itself, bike sharing also links into existing transit. In some cities with bike sharing, up to 50 percent of trips are made to or from bus, train and subway stations.

Columbus launched CoGo Bike Share last July with a network of 300 bicycles and 30 stations throughout downtown. Citi Bike opened in New York City in May with 6,000 bicycles and 330 docking stations in Manhattan and Brooklyn, making it the largest bike-sharing program in the country.

In November, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the city's new bike-share program Divvy - as in "divvy it up" -- would add another 175 stations this year, on top of the initial 300 that opened last summer.

Funding for Chicago's program came from federal grants for projects that promote economic recovery, reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality, as well as money from a city tax increment financing program.

Bicycling in Cleveland has been rising rapidly, up 280 percent between 2000 and 2010, according to U.S. Census numbers.

The planners that studied bike sharing in Cleveland said one challenge is a less-than-robust network of comfortable bike routes within neighborhoods.

Supporters of a communal bike system say the new bikeways coming over the next four years will start to address route deficiencies. Meanwhile, Cleveland exhibits more characteristics on the plus side of the equation, such as its dense employment and population centers downtown and in University Circle, and a substantial tourism industry, according to a summary of the feasibility study.

Other features listed as conducive to bike sharing were a "supportive policy environment" and an "engaged group of potential supporters, including major corporations, local businesses, an extensive health and medical community, a number of large employers, colleges and other institutions with the potential for sponsorship or large membership boosts."

Another incentive noted in the research: Geographic conditions in Cleveland are generally very flat.