I certainly applaud this ambitious effort. And I sincerely hope that they can overcome the obvious hurdles they face:

1) Funding - with the need for financial support from a cash strapped city in the middle of a economic disaster, getting city approval will be tough.

2) Infrastructure - Boston is a beautiful city and has some newly redone parks, but most of the city is not safely navicable by bike by a novice (someone likely to rent); the cost to build out safe riding routes and lanes throughout the city will likely dwarf the cost of the program

3) Standardization - Boston is trying to set a standard for all neighboring cities and towns when it comes to operations, which may cause heartache for some communities.

4) Timing - the city just issued the RFP this week, so it seems hard to believe that they can evaluate, negotiate, select, implement, test and roll-out this ambitious plan in less than 12 months.

Note that I only share these concerns because I would so much like to see Boston implement this. How I would enjoy exploring the city by bike. So my hopes rest in the capable hands of Mayor Menino and Nicole. If there is anything we can do to help, let us know...

For more information, read the article here http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/03/boston_takes_fi.html?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed2