Stimulus Funds Available For Bike Transit Center

Metro Government officials are making plans to build a bicycle transit center in downtown Louisville.The city has permission to use $1.8 million from the federal stimulus package to build a place for cycling commuters to park their bikes, change clothes, shower and catch public transit.The facility would be modeled after one in Chicago and could also include light retail and a "Zip-car" automobile rental service.Cycling advocate Jackie Green says the center is a welcome addition to downtown, but he thinks the city could better protect cyclists with revised traffic laws."We went from 24 pedestrians and cyclists killed in 2007 to 32 pedestrians and cyclists and a wheelchair user killed in 2008. That's not a good trend," says Green.Because it is a stimulus project, the transit center must be completed in two years.