Thursday Morning Commute - 3000% increase

Good morning

• What's the best way to see the Marine Corps Marathon? By Capital Bikeshare of course.
• Speaking of CaBi, official September 2011 numbers are out. As mentioned earlier ridership was again down from the mid-summer highs. It's about 11% lower in September than June. All the other indicators are down a little too - probably due to weather and reduced tourism as previously discussed. Trips per bike per day was down to 4.8 - which isn't much off the peak of 5.1. On the up side, ridership in September 2011 was more than 3000% larger than in Sept 2010 (I know it was only open a few days that month, but it's still a fun number). There have been 1.05 million rides so far and only one serious reported injury.
• More than half of the speakers at the Virginia Transportation Plan public hearing expressed interest in better bicycle, pedestrian, and transit solutions. But others came to support the outer Beltway. 
• Not sure this guy knows what walkable means. If there are a lot of pedestrians - it's probably walkable. And sidewalk cycling in legal in Takoma Park. 
• The Boeing deal in Arlington may clear the way for phase II of the Long Bridge Park, which may include a new connection to the Mount Vernon Trail. Maybe. Phase I is coming along nicely and will open soon.

Comments

[dayglo]

The Takoma Park guy has a point.

We wouldn't say a town where things are within biking distance - but where the streets are full of potholes and glass, narrow lanes, and rude or dangerous drivers - is really "bikeable" either.

[Walsh44]

The fast way to connect Long Bridge Park to the MVT would be to extend the path leading from the VA tunnel under the Humpback Bridge up to Boundary Channel Drive, then put in a paved trail over to the (renamed) Long Bridge Drive. Or is that being done already?

[washcycle]

dayglo, no we wouldn't. But at least two things he complains about ubiquitous pedestrians behaving badly. If there are a lot of pedestrians, it's probably walkable.

Walsh44, Bike advocates want that trail, but the Pentagon does not.

[charlie]

September was fairly rainy and unseasonably cold. I have to think that drove the numbers down.

[Tim]

From Long Bridge Park you can just follow the bike lane down Crystal Drive or even go up Boundary Channel Drive and through the Marina. Either way already connects to the MVT. It would be nice to have a shorter connection, but if the cost to build one is high it doesn't seem like it should be a high priority.

Walsh44 seems to be onto a good thing, though. You would have to convince the Pentagon to go along with it.

[washcycle]

You can from anywhere to anywhere. But how much of a detour is it? Most people are willing to commute 30 minutes - which equals 5-7 miles. Adding a mile onto the route is going to dissuade quite a few potential commuters.

[5555624]

In this case, it won't dissuade anyone, since no one is commuting from Long Bridge Park. When it's completed? Maybe, but for most residential buildings in Crystal City, it will probably still be closer to head over to the MVT down near the Crystal City Water Park.

If people are going to the park to work out, then adding a mile to the route might not be a problem.

[washcycle]

Anyone?? Really? That's a high standard. For anyone using the 14th Street Bridge with a start/end point north of water park but south of 395 it's a detour. In fact, since Army-Navy drive is a nice road for cycling and much easier to get to from the Long Bridge than water park, it means that on the west side of Arlington Ridge Road, the current setup might be a detour.

[oboe]

dayglo, no we wouldn't. But at least two things he complains about ubiquitous pedestrians behaving badly. If there are a lot of pedestrians, it's probably walkable.

Agreed. The letter writer sounds like a committed misanthrope. If you hate your fellow man, walking anywhere is likely a challenge.

[Eric]

The LBP connection is very important for several reasons:
1) The path to MVT would be significantly shorter for anyone from the Crystal City area.
2) The congestion on MVT around National Airport is preventing pedestrians from taking that route. Having an alternative, especially for people going to/from CC or the new Pentagon Yard development is important for traffic on MVT.
3) A possibility of going over the Potomac and direct into DC from LBP is on the table . Don't know how likely, but it is an alternative under discussion.

While the LBP route would be more important for casual riders and pedestrians, it would take pressure off of MVT for all riders.