New Capital Bikeshare Stations Built in Virginia Square

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by Katie Pyzyk — February 21, 2012 at 1:45 pm 1,424 31 Comments

Capital Bikeshare’s expansion along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor continues its push westward. In the past week, two new stations have popped up in the Virginia Square neighborhood.

A 19-dock Bikeshare station was installed near the Virginia Square metro station (901 N. Monroe St), and another one went up directly in front of the Central Library (1015 N. Quincy St), with 11 docks.

The stations, which appear to take very little time to install on location, have been spreading rapidly throughout Arlington since the fall. In October, we reported that the Central Library had been hoping to have a Bikeshare station by some point in the spring, but it was already installed last week.

There are at least a dozen additional stations approved to be built in Arlington this spring, and another dozen proposed stations awaiting approval from various sources. All are concentrated near the orange line corridor, with locations in the works from Rosslyn to the Bluemont neighborhood.

You can suggest locations where you think stations should be installed on Capital Bikeshare’s website. The interactive map also allows you to see where other people have suggested installing stations.

Corey

In before the trolls
Mike

How about we put a few stations where Capital Bikeshare is really needed? Like Columbia Pike?
- Corey
  
  Because Bikeshare is designed to facilitate travel around Metro stops.
  - Josh S
    
    Not exactly.
    
    But stations around Metro stops would certainly make more sense to complete before adding any elsewhere.
    
    Curious about the “really needed.” According to what analysis?
  - cyclist
    
    CaBi should link Metro stops to outlying areas. Just putting them near Metro stops isn’t enough.
    
    Everyone go vote on the map.
    - Michael H.
      
      The initial plan for Rosslyn-Ballston is to set up the spine of stations along the Orange Line stations and then expand outward. There are already plans for many locations in the corridor, not just near the Metro stations.
      
      Arlington will receive quite a few more stations this spring and summer. There are currently 25 stations in Arlington. By the end of the summer or the fall, there are supposed to be 70 bike stations in Arlington. This is in addition to the expansion in D.C., which might see about 60-70 new stations this year, including the first stations on the National Mall.
      
      Alexandria should be getting stations soon, either in the spring or the summer. Montgomery County has also signed on, but they are awaiting word on Maryland state funding for their plans for Bethesda, Friendship Heights, Silver Spring and Takoma Park. Their separate plans for Rockville are already going through. (Don’t ask me why they are installing stations out in Rockville and Shady Grove before adding stations to Bethesda.)
      
      Other local jurisdictions have also begun to seek funding for bike stations, including Prince George’s County and even Columbia, Md.
      - cyclist
        
        Thanks Micheal. I’m glad they intend to do that, but I have yet to see many outlying stations on the map yet.
    - Michael H.
      
      Here’s a map of approved station sites and some proposed sites throughout the D.C. region:
      
      http://g.co/maps/ahcc6
      
      There is one error on the map. There is no station in Arlington Views, despite the yellow tag on the map. That tag should have been placed in Georgetown.
      
      The map only shows 25 of the proposed sites. There should be 20 other stations on the way. No word on where those would go. Based on previous announcements, the new stations could help to fill in currently served areas (R-B Corridor, Pentagon City, Crystal City) and/or expand service to new areas. Maybe Shirlington and Columbia Pike, but that’s just a guess.
      - Michael H.
        
        The map does not include all of the new D.C. stations that will be installed this year. It doesn’t show any Montgomery County locations at all.
- gl
  
  I agree, it would be nice to bike into Pentagon city to the metro… vs. the bus!
va^2

I’ve been saying I was going to try this once it got to VA Square, so now my excuse will be that i’m waiting until the weather is better for my ride to downtown. I’m anxious to see how it works out. Fortunatly, it is downhill almost the entire way to DC.
- JamesE
  
  it is 50 right now get to it.
  - brenden
    
    how do you get it for $50? says $75 on the website
    - jackson
      
      I think he meant it’s 50 degrees, so the excuse that it’s too cold is not valid today.
  - Michael H.
    
    It’s going to be close to 70F on Thursday, before the thunderstorm arrives on Friday.
- cyclist
  
  Just in time for tomorrow’s forecast – high of 61.
- Max
  
  Just do it it’s pretty nice. At the least it’ll provide you with a quick way of getting to Clarendon without having to wait for a bus/train.
Ben

I think some stations around Old Dominion and Lee would make sense. A lot of apartments up there could benefit from riders taking them to the metro.

Also the other “approved” stations in Arlington are apparently awaiting the order of more bikes, according to Capital Bike Share’s facebook page. They gave a ETA of spring.
Mike

Because traveling from a Metro stop to a busy, heavily traveled and lived in corridor like Columbia Pike via bicycle doesn’t make any sense?
Ben

I would also note a new location at Fairfax and Wilson (Near Northside Social) is apparently coming this week.
awh hells bells

Slightly off tangent but I wonder if pedi-cabs would ever take off in Arlington? Motocycle rickshaws would also be a neat concept. I just recall being frustrated by that ad hoc taxi stand that would pop up on N Highland St outside of Pacers at nights. Anything to ease the amount of cars in the Ballston-Rosslyn corridor the better.
- dTagg
  
  It would slightly make sense for pedi-cabs. The problem I see is the terrain. I couldn’t imagine having to tow 400 lbs of cargo up some of the hills here in Arlington. When I lived in downtown Charleston pedi-cabs were awesome!
- Swag
  
  I think the only thing that would take off is the passengers when they get slammed by a NoVA driver.
  - Ben
    
    Or a taxi driver continuously swerving into the bike lane trying to pick up passengers.
BreakPause02

11 docks doesn’t seem like enough for central library.
Arlingtonian

You can buy a used bike for about the same amount of money that you will spend for a one year registration on Capital Bike share.

Capital Bikeshare has one advantage over purchasing a bike in Arlington. You can bike downhill and return by bus or Metro, avoiding the uphill climb. Not a great way to excercise, but it works for couch potatoes.

One big piece of advice. You can avoid the payment of hourly rental fees on Capital Bikeshare by traveling for less than 30 minutes and picking up a new bike at a Bikeshare station along your route. This will be really easy once you learn the locations of all of the Bikeshare stations along your route. Of course, this might bankrupt the program, but it wil be great while it lasts.
- Ben
  
  For condo dwellers its a plus in not having to store the bike. You also don’t need to worry about it getting stolen (more of a problem for people in DC than in Arlington I would imagine).
- dirty biker
  
  Sure, but that bike won’t be downstairs when you want to make a quick trip from your office on a nice day or a one-way trip to meet some friends. It’s kinda like the beauty of the camera phone- it’s not necessarily the “best” option but it’s the option that you always have on hand.
  
  I’m a rabid rider and commuter and not yet a member of the share but if I worked downtown I absolutely would be for the flexibility even though I have plenty of bikes in my basement.
dewey

Just took a ride down to Buckingham & back. I like the new kiosk lets you insert your key instead of having to type in your member number.
ArlingtonCountyTaxpayer

it sure would have been nice if this had been in place this past weekend with bus transfer roulette between stations…
oh wait, that would have taken coordination.
- John
  
  It was in place this past weekend. I took CaBi from Central Library and raced the 38B to my destination downtown. I won.

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