The Bikestation of Long Beach moved to its new, permanent facility downtown on July 27th, 2011. Be sure to stop in to check out the new structure.
The Bikestation’s new home is located along First Street between Long Beach Blvd. and Pine Avenue. It is an integral part of the downtown transit hub.
Bikestation is about day-use and long-term safe bike parking for commuters, and it is about rental bikes. Also, staff mechanics can fix your flat tire or do a bike tune up. Bikestation is run by Mobis Transportation Alternatives, Inc., a firm specialized in multimodal transportation systems. Mobis runs Bikestations in a growing number of cities, including Washington, D.C. The very first Bikestation was here in Long Beach, California.
The following images trace Bikestation as it has moved four times over the past fifteen-some years.
Back in the mid 1990s, Bikestation Long Beach was a brand new idea. The first temporary Bikestation structure was placed on what had been an empty plot of land along First Street immediately west of the Promenade. (Since then, a multi-level condominium with first-floor commercial spaces was built on that parcel.)
East Village artist Anna Wooten created the following drawing, celebrating the Bikestation in its first Long Beach home.
In 2000′s, the Bikestation moved several hundred feet east into a second temporary structure.
In 2009, that second structure was demolished.
Between 2009 and July, 2011, Bikestation was housed on Broadway, one block to the north.
On July 27, 2011, Bikestation moves into its new, permanent, two-story facility on First Street east of the Promenade.
Go to www.mobisinc.com for more information about multimodal transportation system projects in planning and underway in many cities. Also, check out www.bikestation.com.
To learn about projects coordinated by the City of Long Beach to help make our city a great place for cycling safely on city streets, check out bikelongbeach.org.
Also, you are encouraged to participate and support the activities of the various cycling groups in the region… most of us operating on little more than shoestrings and enthusiasm.
