BIXI has revealed that it will be moving 10 bike stations to the east and west of the original zone over the next few weeks. The organization states that reason for the move is "to accommodate snow removal operations," but the effect will be a slight expansion of the original territory covered by the program.

Here are the stations in question:

• Shuter St / Bond St
• Beverley St / College St
• Victoria St / King St E
• Beverley St / Grange Ave
• Peter / Queen St W
• College St / Robert St
• Duncan / Queen St W
• Hoskin Ave / Devonshire Pl
• Mutual St / Gould St
• Hayter St / Bay St

BIXI has yet to reveal precisely where these stations will be re-installed, but did announce that two other stations will be moved permanently (those listed above are being characterized as temporary for now). The bike dock at Lake Shore and Bay will be moved to 365 Parliament and the one at Queen's Park and St. Joseph is headed to the northeast corner of Dundas and Parliament.

Although no new stations are being added and there are already a few that sit outside the original boundary — e.g. the dock near the Princes' Gates — these relocation efforts will give a small taste of what an expanded system might look like. I sure hope that BIXI plans on monitoring the stats at these stations closely with en eye towards permanent expansion.

Also worth knowing, in the event of really bad winter weather, BIXI will temporarily shut down the system. "When stations are closed, users who currently have bikes rented and in their possession will still be able to dock bikes at any station," reads a note in the latest newsletter. "The system will be reopened when all stations have been cleared and are accessible or if conditions allow for safe operations for users and staff to resume." Notification of closures (and subsequent re-openings) will be issued on social media and the BIXI Toronto website.

Photo by Theodropham in the blogTO Flickr pool