This time, it's on NPR (not just WAMU but NPR). Ari Shapiro rode his bike out to the Bikestation and may be the first person to park his bike there - and got some inside photos.
part of the appeal of bicycling is convenience — you can lock a bike to pretty much anything.
But if you lock your bike to a parking meter, you might come back to
find it's missing a seat or wheels, or it's just gone. Soueidan says
theft was an issue even while building the bike garage.
"The superintendent actually had his bike here once and he didn't lock
it, he was just gone for five minutes — and we actually saw the bike
take off," he said.
As usual there is more in the audio than the text, like Ari saying we're too formal and "behind the curve" on cycling." We do have the first bike sharing program in North America I would point out.
And thanks to Ontarioroader to pointing me to this comment on PoP
Yep! Bike and Roll Washington DC will be operating the bikestation
and will offer rentals, repair and retail (and tours starting next
spring). We’re super excited for our new location!
Personally, I think the design of the structure is fantastic. i just
wish we had even more space for commuters and for our portion…
The entrance is the one the side closer to Union
Station; there is one entrance into the bike parking and one into the
rental/retail/repair shop (and one between the two)
Bike Parking is $30/ten days;
$32/month; $116/yr. Unfortunately, members are not guarenteed a spot -
it is first come first served.
There going to sell more memberships than there are spots - like airlines do - so that spaces don't go empty.
On a related note, FABB went to the September 15 meeting of the MWCOG bike ped subcommittee.
A Bikestation rep discussed
their module parking system, an enclosed bike parking station with
keyed access that installs in a day on a concrete pad with electrical
access. Security concerns are reduced with the large windows. The
module appears to be very competitive with individual bike lockers,
allowing more bikes to parked on a smaller footprint.
There's more about the Bike Module here.
These bike modules effectively fill the gap between racks and
bike-transit centers with a land-use-efficient, glass and steel “green”
building that houses 36 bikes in only 10 x 20 square feet (or one car
parking space!) Customers can order the modules in 10 x 20, 10 x 30 and
10 x 40 configurations to meet individual site requirements. Because
the well-lit modules are attractive and iconic they can be placed
prominently, close to the cyclists’ intended destination(s). The
modules offer electronic security and can be multi-use in operation
with as many as six cyclists using each individual parking space.
Consequently, modules are ideal for creating interoperable bicycle
transit networks often in combination with one or more complete
bike-transit centers. Cyclists are able to access any of the network
modules depending on their route each day.
Bikestation needs to update their site to include a picture of these ( and their info "The [DC] facility is
expected to open in early 2008") and Metro should put in a nice big order as part of their transit access study, which FABB also talks about along with a Maryland bike to school study, and updates to the bicycle and pedestrian project database.
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