Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Car Free Day in Crystal City
We celebrated Car Free Day today at one of the Capital Bikeshare stations in Crystal City. We had a table with copies of the Advocates Guide, county bike maps, and example drawings of road projects. The station at 23rd St and Crystal Drive is one of 14 in Crystal City (see the station map). The density is good, with stations located along Crystal Drive, several around the Crystal City metro station, two near the Pentagon station, and others scattered around the main commercial and high density residential areas.We were there with the BikeArlington folks from 11:30-1:30 and there was a lot of lunchtime foot traffic. Several people tried out the bikes; they are so new that many people hadn't seen them before and were intrigued. While we were getting set up two people dropped off bikeshare bikes, saying they planned to use them on a daily basis to get from the Metro station. It's about 1/3 of a mile from the station and one woman is recovering from an injury and the walk is painful; the ride is a much better option. Once you're a member, any rides under 30 minutes are free.
The system is not without it's problems. One gentleman from Wisconsin, pictured on the left, wanted to try out the system. He's are regular cyclist in Madison, a Gold level Bike Friendly Community. He wanted to ride to the Mall and check out some museums. The printed map (and the Google map showing all the stations) showed two stations on the Mall and others nearby. The map of current stations tells a different story, and unless you've checked it out in advance or have a smartphone, you have no idea which stations have been installed. As of today there are no stations on or near the Mall. And the system is so new that several people he asked couldn't help find a station.As a result, he rode all the way back to Crystal City, taking a much longer, and more expensive trip (and missing out on seeing the museums). The cost of the trip increases greatly after the first hour. That's one of the negative aspects of rolling out the system without complete coverage. The system status is changing daily, so it's difficult to post the latest maps, but there could be a better way to help users find current stations.
We talked to several people about the new advocates guide and handed out Fairfax bike maps. It looks like Capital Bikeshare will be a success. Many people were excited by the idea and once the word gets around that it's easy and inexpensive to go by bike, there will be a demand for more bikes and more stations.
Labels: advocates guide, bikearlington, capital bikeshare, crystal city
