Bike Friendly Businesses, Fall 2009

The Bike League's new list of bicycle friendly businesses is out. A few are local (including some that aren't actually businesses).

Silver
The National Park Service - National Mall and Memorial Parks

Bronze
Arrow Bicycle in Hyattsville, MD (the only one in Maryland)
National Geographic Society

Honorable Mention
Community IT innovators in DC

There wasn't a single one in Virginia I'm sorry to say.

Rock Creek Park could take a lesson in Bike Friendliness from the National Mall I suppose. They declined to allow Bike DC to close the Rock Creek Parkway. At least they didn't pull a Bruce Babbitt. ANC Commissioner Mike Silverstein did note this about BikeDC:

It was disheartening to see this letter from NPS. But Rick Bauman has met this afternoon with DC Police, and it looks like we'll have a solution that allows for a police-staffed crossing at 21st and P that will allow Bike DC to use city streets while mitigating disruptions.

Hopefully next year we'll be able to apply early enough and have enough political ducks in line to make sure that Rock Creek Park can be used. Two hours on a Saturday morning should be no big deal.

Anyway, thanks to Rick and Chief Lanier for a workable second-best solution. Here's a case of the Fenty Administration and bicycle enthusiasts working together to everyone's benefit.

Comments

[wd]

the National Mall? Really?? There's not even a single bike lane in the mall.

[IMGoph]

national geographic doesn't offer cyclists the commuting tax credit, unfortunately. the HR department decided that it wasn't cost-effective to offer it at this point, though they do offer tax benefits to those who ride the buses and rails.

[kenf]

So, why is Arrow better than any number of other good bicycle shops in the area?

[Washcycle]

It's a good question. I wish this came with an explanation as to why these businesses are bicycle friendly. Maybe Arrow was the only one to do the paperwork.

[Chris]

Why, pray tell, are bike lanes needed on the Mall?

[CyclingFool]

Why, pray tell, are bike lanes needed on the Mall?

My thoughts exactly. The side"walks" basically double as MUPs since they're so wide, and Madison and Jefferson drives are quite bikeable...

[wd]

Madison and Jefferson are bikeable, but why not throw down some paint and make bike lanes? I ride through 7th everyday. Not one of those perpendicular streets has a bike lane.

The National Mall is an icon. If the national park service is getting accolades for its bike friendliness, than it could atleast have some bike facilities in its premier park.

The sidewalks? seriously? As is, the National Mall is more of a national parking lot (with a really nice median).

[Chris]

"why not throw down some paint and make bike lanes?"

I just don't agree with that train of thought. If a road is bikeable, it doesn't need a bike lane. As for the perpendicular streets, I guess I can see 14th Street needing it, but even then, I wouldn't use it - that's on my daily commute and I'm sticking to the middle of the right lane so I don't get side-swiped!

[wd]

Bike lanes make more people bike... they need the added comfort. I generally don't use them because I'd rather take a lane. I feel safer that way. But I think bike lanes in the Mall would be a huge win in terms of mainstreaming bike commuting.

[Washcycle]

Jefferson and Madison are both pretty easy to bike. There are the trails that parallel them and bikes are allowed on those. There is also a path along the north side of the Mall from Henry Bacon to 15th that is signed as the East Coast Greenway. So that's quite a lot of bike options. I'm not sure bike lanes on the Mall (do you mean literally on the Mall or a certain road?) will entice too many more cyclists.

[Purple Eagle]

The perpendicular streets (7th/14th/etc) are not the responsibility of NPS, so (lack of) bike facilities on them should not affect the ranking of the mall in this context.