Another attempt at Baltimore bikeshare

[Tim Kelley]

@PotomacCyclist 51476 wrote:

I wonder if the Baltimore system could be made compatible with Capital Bikeshare, in that members of each could use their keys in the other system.

And New York! And Boston! And Philly when they get around to it! Let’s ride the whole east coast!

[consularrider]

@Tim Kelley 51477 wrote:

And New York! And Boston! And Philly when they get around to it! Let’s ride the whole east coast!

Bikeshare station to station road trip! Do the Ride on Washington via Bikeshare?

[jrenaut]

@consularrider 51479 wrote:

Bikeshare station to station road trip! Do the Ride on Washington via Bikeshare?

Okay, now we need an “insane” button.

[PotomacCyclist]

Columbia, Maryland, had been considering a bikeshare program recently, but I don’t know if any progress has been made. If so, and if Prince George’s County can finally get its act together and join CaBi, then we could have a bike station network from Arlington/Alexandria to D.C., Prince George’s, Columbia, maybe BWI (need to talk to those people) and Baltimore.

As for the other cities, it would be awesome if CaBi keys worked in New York, Boston, Montreal, London, Paris and other Bixi cities. But the interoperability isn’t there now. I don’t know if it ever will be. But if they do make them part of one large worldwide nework, you can bet that I’ll fire up the engines on my jet-powered personal bike and fly over to London for breakfast, Paris for lunch, Montreal for a mid-day snack, Boston for supper, New York for dinner and D.C. for happy hour!

[PotomacCyclist]

@Tim Kelley 51477 wrote:

And New York! And Boston! And Philly when they get around to it! Let’s ride the whole east coast!

I think you misunderstood. I was referring to people using each bikeshare system for the last mile of their trips. There are plenty of MARC and Amtrak trains between Baltimore and D.C. Then when bikeshare members arrive at Union Station or Penn Station, they could use the bikes to get around the local area. I didn’t mean that people would actually use a Bixi bike to ride between D.C. and Baltimore. Given the slow speeds of the bikes, that could take an entire day.

[consularrider]

@PotomacCyclist 51523 wrote:

… Given the slow speeds of the bikes, that could take an entire day.

I don’t have a problem with that.

[Tim Kelley]

@PotomacCyclist 51523 wrote:

I think you misunderstood. I was referring to people using each bikeshare system for the last mile of their trips.

No, no–I understood completely. And it’s something that comes up every once in awhile in bikesharing conversations.

But if it did happen, you know that someone would try to ride the whole east coast…

[jrenaut]

@Tim Kelley 51536 wrote:

No, no–I understood completely. And it’s something that comes up every once in awhile in bikesharing conversations.

But if it did happen, you know that I would try to ride the whole east coast…

Fixed that for you.

[PotomacCyclist]

@consularrider 51530 wrote:

I don’t have a problem with that.

Including stops at intersections/traffic lights, detours because there are no good trails all the way to Baltimore and pit stops, I’d say that someone would probably average about 4-5 mph on CaBi for that trip, or even slower. The actual bike distance could be 40-45 miles because of detours. So you could be looking at a 10-hr. ride. On CaBi. While I enjoy casual trips on CaBi when I’m just riding around and not heading anywhere, I limit those to the 20 to 60-minute range.

I’m not sure I could handle a 10-hr. ride on CaBi, even with sufficient water, food and rest stops. For one thing, the wide soft seats don’t seem like they would be ideal for really long rides. Perfectly fine for 30 minutes. But 10 hours? Hmm, I don’t know. But someone could volunteer to try this out and you don’t even have to go to Baltimore. You can ride in circles right here in D.C. or Arlington. Or just sit on the CaBi bike for 10 hours. Could be a great idea for a fundraiser.

[consularrider]

Hains Point laps switching out every half hour at the Jefferson Memorial CaBi station to toughen up the rear seat and not incur any extra costs. Wait, that would be a switch about every two to three laps?

Of course the Boston to DC CaBi tour will only be attempted once there are sufficient systems in place that the bike can be exchanged every 8 to 10 miles.

[PotomacCyclist]

I guess there’s another reason to go to Baltimore now. The National Aquarium in the basement of the Commerce Department building will close permanently on Sept. 30. The same private organization runs both that (small) aquarium and the much larger one in Baltimore. (The two aquariums merged not long ago.) After Sept. 30, aquarium fans will need to travel up to Baltimore. Maybe Charm City Bikeshare will be available by then.

So answer honestly — how many have actually visited the National Aquarium in the Commerce building? Not me. Every review I’ve read says it’s small and dark, with just one large room that only requires 45 minutes to see everything. Plus it costs $9.95. Meanwhile, there’s the far better Natural History Museum just a few blocks away and that is free.

[jrenaut]

I went to the DC aquarium once. It wasn’t anything terribly special. However, I realize that taking the Baltimore aquarium as standard, which I do because it was the only one I went to until I was an adult, means that most aquariums seem unimpressive.

Maybe they can repurpose the space for something more appropriate, though. Like a dungeon. Or a wine cellar.

[PotomacCyclist]

The building is being renovated by the government. For some reason, the aquarium did not choose to remain in the renovated building. I don’t know all the details. But a wine cellar might be nice.

(WARNING: Unverified fact-free speculation follows.)

Probably lots of backstabbing, secret conspiracies, mysterious handshakes and secret symbols involved. Or it could just be that the National Aquarium organization realized how underwhelming the Commerce Dept. aquarium was compared to Baltimore and to similar exhibits at the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum, and saw this as an opportune moment to bail out.

I read some speculation that this was planned all along when the D.C. and Baltimore aquariums merged. (I only read about all this yesterday. It’s not something that I follow that closely.) I also read some statements calling for the organization to build a larger aquarium at National Harbor, although I think that would be a mistake. (The lack of Metro access would be a huge problem.)

(Opinion section follows!)

Personally, I’d like to see a larger aquarium built on the SW Waterfront, as part of the planned developments there. An aquarium should be near the water. (Because of the risk of flooding in that area, they could design the building to withstand floods. Even though an aquarium does hold a lot of water, flooding from the Potomac River in heavy downpours usually contains untreated sewage, because of overflow in the combined sanitary and storm sewer systems.) And unlike National Harbor, the SW Waterfront has Metro stations nearby. CaBi stations too.

[mstone]

I think the national aquarium’s big problem is that it’s been there since the early 1930s and relatively few people even know it’s there. The fact that you have to pay for it in a city of free museums is just the kiss of death. The kick in the butt for the taxpayers is that they just spent $1.5M renovating it a few years back.

[dbb]

The invertebrate house at the National Zoo has several cool salt water tanks with coral reefs, an octopus and other sights. It’s bikable and free.

[Author]

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