(Above) Snow covers the Chicago Riverwalk on Wednesday east of the DuSable Bridge. At right is a juice bar closed for the season. (Click on image to view larger version.)

January 3, 2014 – The first temporary closing of Divvy bicycle stations due to extreme weather has happened. On Thursday, the Chicago Department of Transportation said it would close all 300 Divvy stations in the city. The stations have been out of service since noon on Thursday.

A message on the Divvy website said the Chicago system was closed “to protect the safety of our members and staff.”

When it announced in October that Divvy bicycles would ride all winter, CDOT clarified that it would temporarily close stations in extreme weather. In less than extreme weather, CDOT is clearing snow and ice from the stations to keep the popular bike share program open all winter.

While bikes cannot be rented, any bike already in use can be returned to any Divvy station, according to the message.

Loop North News offers the real-time status of 38 Divvy stations located north of Adams Street and south of Chicago Avenue in downtown Chicago at bike.loopnorth.com.

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