Bike sharing is expanding into south, north and east Charlotte

Nearly 58,000 trips were taken in 2016, up 7 percent from the year prior.

[Don’t know what B-cycle is? Here’s a primer on how it works]

Now B-cycle is expanding into more areas of Charlotte.

Plans are for the program to add 30 new bike stations over the next 18 months. That would roughly double the size of the bike-sharing system. It’s also twice as aggressive a plan as B-cycle leaders announced over the summer.

A lot of the expansion has come from demand from apartment developers. Neighborhood associations are also getting in on the action.

[Agenda story: Will B-cycle stations become the new standard at Charlotte apartments?]

Here are some new neighborhoods where B-cycle is expanding to or considering. Each station costs roughly $40,000 to install.

• Park Road Shopping Center. Edens has agreed to install a B-cycle station.
• N.C. Music Factory. AvidXChange is putting one in.
• Plaza Midwood. One305 has purchased a station for its apartment community off Central Avenue, and another developer has bought one for Central and Hawthorne.
• Second Ward. Crescent has bought one for the new Whole Foods on Stonewall Street
• Fourth Ward. SkyHouse and Friends of Fourth Ward are considering buying one.
• Optimist Park. A developer is considering one at 25th Street and Davidson.
• Belmont. A developer is considering one at 10th and Seigle.