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Cities peddle parking for bicycles

Communities hope that valet and other services will encourage residents to use bikes for commuting and doing errands.

April 23, 2007|Deborah Schoch, Times Staff Writer

These parking services are not simply for upscale cyclists, said Andrea White, executive director of the Bikestation organization, which now has centers in six different communities and is consulting with other cities, including Washington, D.C., where a bike center is due to open at Union Station next year.

Service workers and other low-income residents use the centers, and the Bikestation is starting an outreach program to teach cycling skills to women who have recently been released from prison or drug rehabilitation, she said. Those who complete the program will get bicycles to help them find jobs.


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The Sunday crowd in Santa Monica, by contrast, was largely focused on finding basil and breakfast croissants.

Mary Ann Cummins, 70, has equipped her bicycle with side bags large enough to hold her artichokes, greens, broccoli and fresh Gaviota strawberries. "My God, I forgot my eggs," she said, and hastily returned her bike to an attendant.

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deborah.schoch@latimes.com

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