CovinaOpportunity.com

By Ryan Carter, Staff Writer
The San Gabriel Valley Tribune
Posted: 02/23/2010 11:46:13 PM PST

Covina mayor Walt Allen in the new secure bicycle parking structure Bikestation Feb. 23, 2010. The privately operated Bikestation is located at the Covina Metrolink Station and is intended for train commuters who pay a monthly fee for access. (SGVN/Staff photo by Leo Jarzomb/SWCITY)

COVINA - Andrea White-Kjoss thinks her company is on the right path - bike path, that is.

In both cities, White-Kjoss' Long Beach-based Mobis Transportation/Bikestation and its latest local clients - Covina and Claremont - will open Bikestations in a morning full of open houses, ribbon cuttings and bike rides.

In Covina, it also means the city now owns a much-touted 250-square-foot bike module with space enough for 36 bikes for commuters at the Metrolink Station on Citrus Avenue.

In Claremont, it means a station for riders built into a refurbished depot in the heart of the city's downtown district.

Ultimately, it means riders who commute on their bikes will have a secure, clean place to store their bikes before or after they hop off the train.

"It was a good fit there," said White-Kjoss, who has been the 14-year-old firm's CEO for six years. "In Covina, there's a lot of cycling that goes on there, and providing infrastructure for those cycling is a goal of Covina."

It's an infrastructure that Mobis Transportation has been growing over the years after founder John Case was inspired by Asian and European societies, which promoted cycling with bike-transit centers.

After starting Bikestation as a nonprofit in 1996, the organization nurtured the idea of establishing secure hubs near public-transit corridors, where riders can secure their bikes, get repairs and even find a restroom.

That idea led to Bikestations in areas including Berkeley, Long Beach, Santa Barbara, Seattle and Washington, D.C.

Covina's facility is the first hub to be modular, as well as expandable, with entry and exit through a digital key the user receives for a fee.

"What a dream," said Covina Mayor Walter Allen III. "You ride your bike down there.

Plus, it's a good example of going green, Allen said - "saving gas, you're exercising and being green."

And it fits well within one of the city's strategic plan goals - finding projects that are environmentally sustainable. It also gets other business involved, such as Covina Valley Cyclery, which will offer discounts to members of the station, .

The benefits are why the city made the deal with Bikestation to pay $59,800 in Proposition 8 transportation funds to invest in the module, which it now owns, Allen said. It was a source of pride to Allen, who said no utility or property tax revenue was used to make the purchase.

"For the people who use it, it's a vital part of the transportation system," said USC professor Lisa Schweitzer, an expert in transit policy.

In the long run, the success of such stations will determine whether they are worth the public expense to invest in them, she said.

As it stands, interest from cities clamoring to go green is just what Bikestation is banking on. In 2009, part of the organization was spun off into a for-profit, as it sought to grow at a time of rising oil prices and more environmental awareness.

"Cities all over the the U.S. right now are absolutely coming to be known as bicycle-friendly cities ... when I started it wasn't that way at all."

From 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., grand opening events will begin at the Claremont Depot, 200 W. First St. A group bike ride or a hop on Metrolink will get you to Bikestation Covina, 600 N. Citrus Ave., where festivities will begin at 11 a.m.

Bikestations open: A place to park two wheels