With the growth of bike share programs in a number of metropolitan jurisdictions, Prince George’s County is studying whether a bike share network would benefit its communities. The study will also determine whether Capital Bikeshare, which has a number of bike stations in the Washington D.C. area, will best fit the county’s needs.

From the article,

Some Prince George’s biking advocates and riders say they are hopeful the feasibility study, which is expected to deliver recommendations early next year, will lead to putting the distinctive red Bikeshare bikes on county streets.

“Everybody is ready for it. The communities are ready for it,” said Aaron Marcavitch, executive director of Maryland Milestones/Anacostia Trails Heritage Area, a nonprofit group that has been involved in finding ways to increase bicycle tourism in Prince George’s. “We are a suburban area, and it takes a little bit of legwork to get the pieces in place, but there is very much an enthusiasm to get it done.”

To grow the biking infrastructure, the county has hired a bike and pedestrian coordinator.

There already are more county residents biking, particularly in the densely populated communities inside the Beltway. But the county’s transportation department has lacked a cohesive bike plan. Director Darrell B. Mobley said the new bike coordinator will help develop measurable goals and targets for improving infrastructure and safety.

Mobley said the county has been incorporating bike lanes into most major road projects, but funding cuts for resurfacing have limited the county from making progress on that front.

A bike-share program is key to the county becoming more bike-friendly, Mobley said. The feasibility study should provide “better direction on how we want to move forward with the bike-share program,” he said, declining to provide a timetable for when such a program could launch.