Brookline rolling out first Hubway stop today in Coolidge Corner

By Brock Parker, Town Correspondent

Brookline’s first Hubway bicycle sharing station is being installed in Coolidge Corner and is expected to be activated this afternoon.

The station is being installed along Beacon Street near the intersection with Centre Street.

A second Hubway station is expected to be installed at Brookline Town Hall Friday, followed by a third at the Brookline Village MBTA stop as soon as next week, said Joe Viola, Brookline’s assistant director for community planning.

The bicycle docking stations are linking Brookline to the Hubway regional bicycle sharing network that launched in Boston last year. Hubway launched in Cambridge Monday, and Somerville is also joining the bike sharing network.

Celebrations for the expansion will be held next Wednesday, Aug. 8, at Brookline Town Hall at 9 a.m., at Somerville City Hall at 10 a.m. and at Cambridge City Hall at 11 a.m., according to the Metropolitan Area Planning Council.

For a membership fee of $85 a year or $5 a day, Hubway allows users to borrow bicycles for short trips and return them at any docking station throughout the regional network.

Cambridge will install 24 docking stations in the next two weeks, Somerville will eventually have 11 docking stations and Brookline is aiming for four stations this year.

Viola said the exact location and installation date for the fourth station in Brookline has not been determined, but he said he’s hoping it will be sometime this year in the JFK Crossing neighborhood.

--brock.globe@gmail.com