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The College Park City Council expressed its support Tuesday night for a Washington, D.C., program that could bring public bike-sharing stations and reduced traffic and pollution to the city.

The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board voted July 15 to request $276 million in federal funding for priority bus corridors and bike-sharing stations through the federal Transportation Improvement Generating Economic Recovery program. TPB officials have until Sept. 15 to finalize details and submit their application.

The project — which had an estimated total cost of $676 million at the time — would improve bus stops, pedestrian access and add dedicated bus lanes in the capital region, as well as add 1,600 bicycles and 160 bike-sharing stations in Washington, D.C., northern Virginia and Montgomery County.

Bike-sharing would allow participants to rent a bicycle at one station, bike to their destination and return it at any station within the system.

Initially, the bike-sharing plan did not include College Park, but City Councilman Patrick Wojahn (Dist. 1), who attended the July 15 meeting, spearheaded the effort to get the city included. He said the program would be especially beneficial for residents who work or attend school at the University of Maryland, College Park.

"Given the difficulties with parking and driving to campus, I think bikes offer a reasonable alternative," Wojahn said. "They can just pick up a bike at the bike-sharing location and drop it off on campus."

TPB officials were receptive but requested letters of endorsement from municipalities wishing to participate in the program. The College Park City Council voted unanimously at Tuesday's work session to send a letter signed by Mayor Stephen Brayman.

Councilman Mark Cook (Dist. 3) said bike-sharing could help to ease traffic and improve public health in the city.

"These programs have been incredibly successful around the world and country," said Cook, who biked to work for five years when he lived in the District. "Traffic in College Park is from multiple sources so it requires multiple solutions, and this is one of them."

E-mail David Hill at dhill@gazette.net.