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Aldermen Ride Newly Deployed LimeBikes to Council Meeting

California-based LimeBike launched its bicycle-share service last weekend in Rockford -- the first time the company’s lime-green bicycles are available in Illinois.

Monday evening, a handful of Rockford aldermen decided to use the brand new service for the final leg of their trip to weekly meetings at City Hall.

They met at the parking lot where the Rockford City Market takes place on Fridays during the summer to pick up their velocipedes in the 200 block of East State Street.

Three council members – 2nd Ward Ald. Jonathan K. Logemann, 3rd Ward Ald. Chad Tuneberg, and 9th Ward Ald. Bill Rose – successfully navigated the procedure and pedaled away.

LimeBike distributes a smart-phone app to help clients find bikes and guide them to preferred parking spaces without a set of fixed docking stations.

Jason Wilde, the northern General Manager for LimeBike, says a smart-phone app allows for the bikes to be independent of fixed racks.

“Not limited to stations, providing more accessibility, allowing people to follow natural transport patterns, but can ultimately still incentivize people to park in certain locations,” he said.

The company already has established operations in 10 states plus Washington, D.C., and nearly 20 college campuses.

The Rockford effort dates back to March 1, when the Illinois Region 1 Planning Council unveiled a plan to increase bicycle and pedestrian traffic in the Rockford area.

  • WNIJ's Chase Cavanaugh contributed to this story.
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