Around Town

(Updated at 5:10 p.m.) Phoenix Bikes, a local nonprofit and community bike shop, has officially moved. The shop started moving yesterday from its Four Mile Run location into a new home inside the Arlington Mill Community Center (909 S Dinwiddie St).

Meg Rapelye, executive director of Phoenix Bikes, said the shop is planning to open next week. The exact date is still pending an approval of a certificate of occupancy, but an official ribbon cutting is planned for next Wednesday (Sept. 12).


Schools

(Updated at 10 a.m.) Arlington Public Schools is indefinitely suspending its incentive program to push employees out of their cars, after the effort proved to be a bit too successful — and expensive.

The school system’s Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Commuter Program provides stipends to employees for turning to public transit, walking, bicycling, carpooling and other options to limit the number of cars going to and from schools.


News

Arlington’s opened up another protected bike lane, this time connecting Rosslyn and Courthouse.

This newest lane runs along Wilson Blvd, between N. Quinn Street and N. Courthouse Road near the post office in the area. The county previously built a protected lane between N. Oak and N. Quinn Streets back in 2016.


Events

The fifth annual Kennan Garvey Memorial Ride is planned for this Saturday (Aug. 25). The bicycle ride along the Washington and Old Dominion Trail will raise money to help Phoenix Bikes afford a new van to help transport students and day to day operations.

Rides range from 15 miles to the full length of the trail. Every 15 miles, volunteers greet riders with water, snacks, maintenance and high fives.


News

Bicycling advocates are blasting newly revealed plans to simultaneously expand Arlington National Cemetery and realign Columbia Pike, arguing that the proposed changes could make cycling along the roadway more dangerous.

The advocacy group “Sustainable Mobility for Arlington County” claims the cemetery’s current expansion plans, designed to someday add 70 acres to the burial ground, “will squander a major opportunity to improve the bike connection between Columbia Pike and Pentagon City and arguably make cycling less pleasant and less safe.”


Events

When disaster strikes, roads are often one of the first necessities hit. Gridlock or damage to streets can make them impassible for cars.

And on Sept. 29, the county will host “Disaster Relief Trials” to simulate just such an emergency in Arlington. Participants will need to climb onto their bikes and travel across the county carrying food, water, medical supplies and messages to those in need. To do so, they will need to navigate without a GPS and traverse simulated dangerous terrain.


News

A coalition of bicycling and transit advocates has drawn up a new map of the entire D.C. region’s bike trails, in a bid to promote a more holistic view of the area’s biking options.

The Capital Trails Coalition released the “diagrammatic map” today (Monday), displaying not only the 436 miles of existing trails across the region but also another 302 miles of planned paths that will someday create even more connectivity for cyclists.


Events

Commuters looking to learn more about local transportation options can swing by a block party along Columbia Pike tomorrow night (Tuesday).

Arlington Transportation Partners is hosting its second “Our Shared Street Pop-Up” event on a closed street at the intersection of S. Oakland Street and Columbia Pike, just across from the Oakland Apartments.


News

A section of the Custis Trail running alongside I-66 near Rosslyn is set to close for the next month.

Starting today (Monday), workers will start repairing the trail as it runs between N. Adams Street and McCoy Park to make it a bit more hospitable to cyclists. Construction is set to last through Aug. 24.


Around Town

Five Arlington residents will cycle through parts of Massachusetts next weekend (Aug. 4-5) to support cancer research and care.

Since 1980, the Pan-Mass Challenge bike-a-thon has raised over $598 million. All of the funds raised by riders go to Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.


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