Spring Already? 2012 Bike Projects Already Underway
Signs of spring come as new bike share stations and bike racks are installed around Arlington.
Perhaps the fullest the Virginia Square Metro station will ever be.
Photos (2)
Photos
The big Capital Bikeshare expansion down the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor announced last year was scheduled to begin in “the spring”. Well, it must be spring, as the new stations are already starting to appear. On top of that, almost 40 new bike racks were recently installed all over Arlington. With good weather and a bit of luck, it seems the spring infrastructure push for bikes is well underway.
Over the past weekend, the Virginia Square Metro station saw the addition of a 19 space Capital Bikeshare station. The Central Library also received an 11 space station. These two stations represent the furthest westward expansion of the Capital Bikeshare system to date.
New stations will be installed as bikes arrive from the manufacturer. The expectation is that the next one will be at the corner of Fairfax and Wilson, near Northside Social.
The planned growth of the system is much like that of a tree, with the base of the trunk planted in Rosslyn and currently growing toward Ballston. When that trunk is strong enough, it can then support the growth of branches away from the corridor.
Unfortunately for those who would like to see another “tree” planted along Columbia Pike, its geographic distance from the rest of the CaBi network can’t efficiently support such a move. However, faster growth of the Crystal City or R-B Corridor systems towards Columbia Pike will bring the network density required to make Columbia Pike stations viable.
New bike racks have been appearing throughout Arlington, filling in gaps where bike parking has been difficult to find (beyond the usual signpost or parking meter stopgaps). Roughly 40 racks have been installed along the R-B Corridor, and County staffers tell me that another 20 racks are scheduled to be installed in the near future. Thankfully, a number of those racks will be installed along Columbia Pike. Arlington County remains interested in suggestions for placement of additional racks in publicly-owned right of way.
These developments are a solid step forward for Arlington. The CaBi expansion westward is going to bring a new wave of cyclists onto Arlington’s streets. With greater numbers will come greater safety for all cyclists. By adding new bike racks, we get closer to the ideal of ubiquitous bike parking, which in turn makes cycling more convenient and attractive for all.
If this is what early spring brings, just imagine what we might see this summer.
Mark Blacknell is chair of the Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee, president of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, and a League Cycling Instructor
Allen Muchnick
8:21 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
I was pleased to find two new bike racks today near the Navy League building at 2300 Wilson Blvd.
Don
8:56 am on Friday, February 24, 2012
I will not bicycle on Arlington's crummy streets. It's disgraceful that the bike lanes on Kirkwood near my home are in such bad shape. Thumbs down to Patch for encouraging this dangerous activity.
Geof Gee
11:34 am on Friday, February 24, 2012
I concur that the bike lanes on Kirkwood are pretty bad. Although, in large, I'd say that cycling around Arlington streets is pretty straight forward.
Jason Spencer
2:34 pm on Friday, February 24, 2012
Full disclosure: I'm not a cyclist, so I can't really speak with authority on the condition of specific routes.
But I've been toying with the idea of a "Fix Our Streets" standing feature for the site -- this makes me think that maybe a "Fix Our Bike Lanes" feature could work, too. Let me chew that over...
Mark Blacknell
4:23 pm on Friday, February 24, 2012
That's your loss, Don, as Arlington's a great place to ride (esp. as compared to just about anywhere else in the US). I encourage you to contact the County Board about the Kirkwood bike lanes.
Mark Blacknell
4:23 pm on Friday, February 24, 2012
@Jason - our streets are our bike lanes :D
Allen Muchnick
7:03 pm on Friday, February 24, 2012
Dear Don (aka Janet, julie, c.d., CSG, etc):
We know who you really are, and you live in Fairlington, not near Kirkwood. Your anonymous trolling here to pointlessly disparage bicycling, bicyclists, and the Arlington County Board is immature and disruptive, but also a source of amusement. Evidently, you don't have anything better to do.
Geof Gee
11:59 am on Friday, February 24, 2012
I don't see CaBi as a driver of greater commercial/recreational activity in an area. I suspect that it's more of something that will follow increased activity within a neighborhood. With the understanding that I don't really follow the daily happenings of Columbia Pike -- I have noticed the shops/restaurants by Walter Reed -- I think that more "stuff" will need to be developed before a station appears there.
Allen Muchnick
7:13 pm on Friday, February 24, 2012
Geof,
The Columbia Pike corridor has, for many decades, had more than enough residential density and destinations to support CaBi. While it makes sense to first build out CaBi in the R-B corridor this year, CaBi should be extended to both Columbia Pike and Shirlington in 2013.
Don
6:28 pm on Friday, February 24, 2012
Talked it over with my family. None of us will ride bicycles in Arlington until the streets are fixed. Too dangerous. It's obvious that Patch only wants to chase ambulances and the bicycle groups aren't going to say anything to anyone for fear of offending the people who dole out the yearly stipends to special interest groups
Mark Blacknell
6:46 pm on Friday, February 24, 2012
Dammit, Janet!
Allen Muchnick
7:32 pm on Friday, February 24, 2012
Jason,
Rather than a "fix our streets" feature on Patch, it would be far more productive to encourage the public to report such problems directly to the appropriate agency here: [ https://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/EnvironmentalServices/cpe/concrete/resform.htm ] .
Issues with bike lanes are best reported on the Bike Arlington Forum [ http://www.bikearlingtonforum.com/forum.php ] . A "fix our bike lanes" feature here would merely be a convenient outlet for bicyclist haters.
Jason Spencer
1:59 pm on Saturday, February 25, 2012
What I'm thinking -- and the idea is still very raw -- is to have a standing post that can be featured on the front page on a rotating/semi-regular basis that encourages people to upload a photo of a street in need of repair (along with the street name and any pertinent details). Basically, it would serve as a showcase to the county -- and everyone else -- of roads the community feel are in need of more attention. I wouldn't have a problem including a link to the county Department of Environmental Services along with the post.
A.B.
8:03 pm on Friday, February 24, 2012
What's wrong with having safe streets? Our tax $$$$ are going for everything else.
A.B.
8:05 pm on Friday, February 24, 2012
Only hate I see here is from Mr. Muchnick.
Allen Muchnick
8:15 pm on Friday, February 24, 2012
Oh, really? The ONLY thing I've criticized is the pointless, anonymous trolling by ONE hateful, immature, and insulting individual with a well-known anger-management problem.
A.B.
8:19 pm on Friday, February 24, 2012
Mr. Muchnick, it appears that YOU are a person with an anger-management problem.
Allen Muchnick
8:23 pm on Friday, February 24, 2012
No, I'm merely amused, not angered, by the extent of your pettiness and immaturity.
Peter
8:39 pm on Friday, February 24, 2012
Why all the hatred directed towards people who want the streets to be safe to bicycle on? In fact, many of Arlington's streets are a mess. Can we have a little adult supervision over what's posted here? Doesn't Patch have TOS rules?
Allen Muchnick
9:11 pm on Friday, February 24, 2012
No hatred has been directed towards people who want "safer" or "smoother" streets, but Arlington's streets are still relatively safe and smooth--including for bicycling--and there is NO objective reason to believe otherwise.
Yes, we do need more adult supervision on this site--to prevent repeated anonymous and unconstructive comments and personal attacks from ONE individual who keeps posting under multiple aliases.
Jason Spencer
2:06 pm on Saturday, February 25, 2012
I'm working with our tech people on duplicate accounts. So far, we've identified two accounts that originate from the same email address. Once we've checked all the accounts, I'll contact their owner(s).
A.B.
9:37 pm on Friday, February 24, 2012
Arlington has terrible streets and roads. Please focus your attention on improving them, not upon "outing" residents who demand safer streets.
Yes, we have the right and personal responsibility to safeguard our own lives and the lives of our families by not riding bicycles on dangerous streets.
Peter
10:43 pm on Friday, February 24, 2012
Where is Patch on the issue of safe streets?
Jason Spencer
2:03 pm on Saturday, February 25, 2012
I think I can safely say that I -- and most people -- support safe streets. I don't think it would be appropriate for me to go so far as to start saying maintenance of specific streets should be funded ahead of Project X or Agency Y. But see the idea I posted above about giving readers a place to showcase Arlington streets they feel are in need of repair.
Part of my job, I believe, is to help call attention to things -- not take sides on controversial issues. Writing about controversial issues and including unpopular or differing points of view shouldn't be confused with taking a side.
Ben
9:43 pm on Wednesday, March 14, 2012
I just jumped in on these bike threads as an avid cyclist living in Arlington. I've found Arlington to be an extremely bike-friendly place to live, which is refreshing since much of our country (which is understandably and historically auto-focused), is very dangerous for any type of bike commuting. As someone who also drives all over town, I also completely agree that roads in Arlington, as well as the entire metro area, desperately need overhaul.... In fact, don't get me started. Anyway, I'm very confused as to how these two feelings are being portrayed as incompatible--they certainly aren't for me. And I am not aware of some kind of secret cyclist SuperPAC that is going around posting on neighborhood news sites in order to influence the all-powerful County Board.... Does anyone actually put enough stock in the effectiveness of a county board to play politics like that? And someone is going around "paying yearly stipends?" What in the world are you talking about? I for one will continue reading articles like this, because quite simply, they're informative. Cheers.
Mark Blacknell
10:22 pm on Thursday, March 15, 2012
Thanks, Ben. And I'm very much in agreement - there's nothing incompatible with enjoying a bike and wanting better maintained streets.
As to the Secret Cyclist Cabal, we keep getting together to plan our utter domination of Arlington, but then we get sidetracked by good beer and fun instead.