Friday Afternoon Commute - Fulparkerare

Good afternoon

• DDOT Spanish-language outreach.
• CaBi expansion in DC has been delayed, according to Mayor Gray's spokesperson Pedro Ribeiro "because of delays getting them from the supplier...but DDOT thinks in the next 6 weeks they will have all the stations in."
• There's only one word for someone who parks in the L Street cycletrack - Fulparkerare
• Other bike stuff I missed from Mayor Gray's budget
  • "There is a pot of $10.7 million for bike lanes and trails, which appears to be entirely new; formerly, there was no dedicated local bike money. The budget staff have promised to follow up to confirm this. Another $5.1 million will go to "bike-friendly streetscapes," which will be interesting to see in more detail."
  • The new Douglass Bridge gets fully funded.
• A profile of locally-educated Alta Planning + Design president and bike-lover Mia Birk. It's interesting that in all the talk of how women are under-represented in biking, there are quite a few bike businesses operating in DC that are led by women (Alta, Toole Design, BikeStation, Capitol Hill Bikes, etc...)
• And an interview with Alta's Eric Gilliland, Director of Capital Bikeshare. The article includes a photo of an artistic bike rack in DC that I haven't seen before. 
• "It is bike lanes. It is dog parks. It is about state-of-the-art swimming facilities. It is about recreation centers. Capital Bikeshare. Car2Go. Streetcars. It's about a way of life. Black folks want this stuff, they're just not as passionate about it.""
• Following another installment of the argument charlie and I have every 6 months on the appropriateness of using CMAQ funds for bike-sharing, streetsblog has a post on how difficult it is to calculate calculating the carbon-reduction benefits of increased biking. If only I had my own research staff and grad school students to deploy. 
• Chicago might finally get a riverwalk trail along the Chicago River, but based on the photos, I don't think it will be for cyclists. 
• Check out the Fire and EMS bicycle. 
• "This is the make or break year, so we know that we need additional revenue, the state needs additional revenue in the trust fund to actual build the Purple Line," said Madden. "So far we are optimistic, based on the discussions going on, that will happen."

Comments

[Bike Share]

Alta doesnt care about supplier issue. They recently signed yet another contract, even though they cant deliver in DC, Chicago, NYC or Portland. Why do the cities keep signing up?

[Jonathan Krall]

Hmmm... I know of a restaurant where you have to get a reservation weeks in advance in order to get food. They don't care that their customers are waiting and, yet, somehow, mysteriously, people keep giving this restaurant good reviews. I suspect government mind control.

[washcycle]

Alta doesn't supply the bikes. Bixi does. Two different companies.