Bike Station to Open in October (Maybe?)

The Post wrote about the soon-to-open Bike Station at Union Station.

The center, to open in October, will have 150 enclosed bike racks, triple the amount now at the station, and 20 outdoor racks. The 1,700-square-foot building west of the station will also have changing rooms, personal lockers, a bike repair shop and a retail store that will sell drinks and bike accessories.

Planned since 2005, this latest opening date represents another slip, but hopefully the fact that they're publishing it in the Post indicates that they think it's the last. [It has slipped from March 2008, to spring 2008, to July 2009, to August/September and now to October - in time for the Winter Crush]

The cost to bike riders: $1 a day for access to the center from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., or $100 a year for an annual membership and round-the-clock access to the racks.

The center will be the first of its kind on the East Coast

She said she hopes the center will encourage more people to join the estimated 87,500 in the Washington area who use their bikes as their primary means of transportation.

The Bike Station under construction

Photo by Bill O'leary - Washington Post

Comments

[ANon]

This I wonder. Cycling around union station sucks (e.g., the roads are hell on two wheels). Why did it make sense to make that the hub?

[Washcycle]

There were several reasons. It's the most frequently used metro station for cyclists. With the Amtrak station is also has many long-term parkers. It's a destination in it's own right (movie theater, mall, restaurants). It's at the end of the Met Branch Trail. And finally, and possible most importantly, DDOT got the land for free (though they then had to spend quite a lot to make it architecturally acceptable to Union Station).

[Infra]

D.C. Cyclists: contribute to the ongoing discussion of alternate transportation today at www.InfrastructureUSA.org. View the Show Us Your Infra video urging transportation reform, "Retraining America," or interviews in the The Infra Blog from Senator Robert Menendez and Governer Edward Rendell. Get involved and tell us which infrastructure projects are most important to you.

[Jackson]

If they don't add a Smartbike Station I am going to flip a fucking pancake.