(Washington, DC) – The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the National Park Service (NPS) announced today that the first Capital Bikeshare stations have been installed on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Two stations were installed this morning, just days before the start of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

The new stations are located at Ohio Drive and West Basin Drive, SW near the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial; and on Jefferson Drive between 14th and 15th Streets, SW, close to the Washington Monument.

"We are delighted to offer Capital Bikeshare to our residents and visitors as they traverse the historic landmarks and monuments on the National Mall," said Mayor Vincent C. Gray. “We strongly believe that a Capital Bikeshare presence on the Mall will promote greater use of bicycling and other sustainable transportation options throughout the five week festival and beyond.”

“The bike stations are just one part of our efforts to help our visitors to get to all our historic memorials and monuments,” said Bob Vogel, Superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks. “We really appreciate DDOT’s partnership in making this happen, especially in time for the National Cherry Blossom Festival.”

The new stations are the first of five Capital Bikeshare stations planned for the Mall and they will remain in place after the Cherry Blossom Festival.

“Our staff has been working closely with the Park Service to put the National Mall on our bikeshare map,” said DDOT Director Terry Bellamy. “"With these additions, we now have 151 stations in our system, more than any other bikesharing program in the country."

In addition to the new station locations, Capital Bikeshare will also have staff on hand to assist festival attendees at the Ohio Drive & West Basin Drive station during the first three weekends of the festival: March 24 and 25; March 31 and April 1; and April 7 & 8, from 11am until 5pm, which will assist with the anticipated increase in usage during the festival.

The National Park Service has also arranged for additional bike parking at two locations: between 15th and 14th Streets, SW near the Washington Monument, and at the Jefferson Memorial for attendees using personal bikes or rentals with locks. A map showing the location of bike parking is available on the National Park Service website .

DDOT encourages all to plan ahead for large crowds and traffic congestion and suggests utilizing the District’s extensive transportation network of buses and trains if bike travel is not an option. The National Cherry Blossom Festival has information on getting to the blossoms on their website  and transportation options to specific festival events including an interactive map of options can be found on goDCgo.com .

Capital Bikeshare is the product of a unique public/private partnership between DDOT, Arlington County, Virginia and Alta Bike Share. The two jurisdictions worked closely with Alta Bicycle Share to develop the program in the fall of 2010, offering the first regional bikesharing service in the nation. Based on the initial success of the program, both jurisdictions are now adding additional stations and bicycles and the city of Alexandria is expected to launch a pilot program this year. For more information about Capital Bikeshare, visit www.capitalbikeshare.com .