Behold: RackSpotter – A crowdsourced bike parking tool!

[PotomacCyclist]

Arlington seems to be sprouting bike racks this spring. I rode by Potomac Yard-Arlington and saw two new bike racks. Neither were there a couple weeks ago. I know they are new. One of them is in the process of being installed. The rack is in place but there are construction materials all around that part of the sidewalk, at The Eclipse. It seems to be part of a symmetrical pattern, one rack on each half of the block.

Same thing with the new rack at National Gateway I, the long-empty office building facing Rte. 1 (other than the LA Fitness gym).

[CaseyKane50]

@CaseyKane50 113703 wrote:

Tom sent me an email yesterday that the rack has been repaired. I haven’t had a chance to ride by the school to get a confirming picture.

Finally got by the school to check on the repair. Sadly, the repair was an amputation of the three damaged hoops. So instead of a rack that would accommodate 10 bikes, it now will accommodate 4.

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[PotomacCyclist]

This is my nomination for worst bike rack installation, although it only affects MWAA employees at the airport. This is the rack located in the center section of the MWAA office building, to the north of the main terminals.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]8554[/ATTACH]

The rack could hold at least 7 bikes, possibly 10-12 if you squeezed them in there. But they installed it against the wall, so that only 2 or 3 bikes will fit.

[Tim Kelley]

@CaseyKane50 115443 wrote:

Finally got by the school to check on the repair. Sadly, the repair was an amputation of the three damaged hoops. So instead of a rack that would accommodate 10 bikes, it now will accommodate 4.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]8553[/ATTACH]

I checked in with Tom and he’s going to poke them about it a bit.

[PotomacCyclist]

If anyone is interested in adding more bike racks to the map in North Arlington, I found some on Google Maps. I rarely head up to the far northern part of Arlington, so I doubt I’ll get a chance to look at the rack locations myself. No one else has covered those locations either.

– The Madison Community Center in Fort Ethan Allen Park has at least 4 racks (8 spaces). They are visible on Street View here:

https://goo.gl/maps/RIssv
https://goo.gl/maps/NCSBF

Those pictures are a few years old, so the bike rack configuration may have changed. I use Google Maps to locate possible locations of bike racks, but I verify them in person before adding them to the RackSpotter map.

– Marymount University has at least a couple bike rack locations:

https://goo.gl/maps/5PqHW
https://goo.gl/maps/bAJst

There could be other racks on campus. I’ve ridden past the racks in the Street View images but that was a couple years ago. I can’t verify the current set-up and I’m not likely to head up there in the near future.

– I also see on Google Maps that several of the schools have bike racks but few of them have been added to RackSpotter. The list might include Jamestown Elementary School, Williamsburg Middle School, O’Connell, Yorktown, and any others I don’t see on the map. I am never going to ride past any of these schools myself.

– In other parts of Arlington, there are the Kenmore Middle School and the Carlin Springs Elementary School in Glencarlyn, Wakefield, Long Branch Elementary School and Hoffman-Boston Elementary School.

– The Fairlington Community Center appears to have a few bike racks as well. I never ride to Fairlington either, so I’m unlikely to check on this location.

https://goo.gl/maps/NxeYX

[PotomacCyclist]

@PotomacCyclist 115387 wrote:

Arlington seems to be sprouting bike racks this spring. I rode by Potomac Yard-Arlington and saw two new bike racks. Neither were there a couple weeks ago. I know they are new. One of them is in the process of being installed. The rack is in place but there are construction materials all around that part of the sidewalk, at The Eclipse. It seems to be part of a symmetrical pattern, one rack on each half of the block.

Same thing with the new rack at National Gateway I, the long-empty office building facing Rte. 1 (other than the LA Fitness gym).

I wonder if they saw the RackSpotter map and saw a couple gaps in the bike rack coverage. Or maybe it’s just a coincidence.

[CaseyKane50]

@Tim Kelley 115450 wrote:

I checked in with Tom and he’s going to poke them about it a bit.

Thanks!

[PotomacCyclist]

Other than the Fairlington Community Center, I believe there is only one more bike rack location east of 395 that isn’t on the RackSpotter map. That would be the small rack installation at Terminal A at Reagan National. The MWAA map indicates that there’s a rack there, with 2 spaces. (More likely, they mean a wave rack or U racks with two loops, and 4 spaces. I’m basing this on the description and configuration of the other bike racks next to the main terminals at the airport.)

I’ve now covered all of the retail/restaurant/office areas in Pentagon City, Crystal City and Potomac Yard. I checked all the schools and all the churches. (I think all the churches are located along or near 23rd St. S. for the most part.)

I went to the major parks and some of the smaller neighborhood parks. There are a couple very small neighborhood parks that I didn’t check. I looked at those areas on Street View and didn’t see any bike racks. I’ve also found that the small, older neighborhood parks usually don’t have bike racks. I looked at Long Bridge Park, Virginia Highlands Park, the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial, Prospect Hill Park, Cheerios Park, Crystal City Children’s Park, the park next to National Gateway in Potomac Yard-Arlington, Fort Scott Park, Eads Park, Gravelly Point Park and the Gunston Community Center and fields.

The only other parks east of 395 and north of Four Mile Run are Fraser Park and Troy Park, as far as I know. Street View doesn’t show anything. But if someone lives near there or rides by there a lot, it might be worthwhile to take a quick look.

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I’m expecting there to be several new bike rack installations this summer, late in the year and next year as large construction projects are completed. Virginia Highlands Park has some bike racks that are currently inaccessible to the public because of court renovations. The Metroway bus rapid transit system may involve the installation of new bike racks. It’s possible that the new racks on S. Glebe Rd. (The Eclipse, National Gateway) were installed because of the construction of Metroway. An Arlington press release also mentioned new bike racks as part of the Metroway project.

Most of the new private developments are including a lot of bike racks. Some of these developments will be completed over the next 12-18 months.

[PotomacCyclist]

I walked by a bike rack in Clarendon and wondered if it was on the map. It wasn’t, so I added it. I had thought that Clarendon was fully covered, but I found many more racks there, just on a couple blocks. So if you’re interested in RackSpotter and happen to pass by some racks along the Orange Line, it might be worthwhile to check if the racks on that block have been added.

I also discovered that the trees in Clarendon seem to be emitting really noxious clouds of pollen. I’ve been walking, riding and running around the MVT, Potomac Yard, downtown DC and the National Mall over the past month without too many allergy issues. But walking around Clarendon today really did a number on my lungs. What do they put in the trees there?

[PotomacCyclist]

I noticed that someone added a bike rack in DC. Is that a test or has the map been opened to DC (and Alexandria)?

[Tim Kelley]

@PotomacCyclist 115610 wrote:

I noticed that someone added a bike rack in DC. Is that a test or has the map been opened to DC (and Alexandria)?

It’s been opened up for testing, but we haven’t officially publicized it.

[PotomacCyclist]

So should we add DC/Alexandria stations or hold off for now?

[scoot]

@Tim Kelley 115619 wrote:

It’s been opened up for testing, but we haven’t officially publicized it.

Don’t mean to pressure you, but it appears that PotomacCyclist’s summer plans hinge on your decision here

[Tim Kelley]

@scoot 115658 wrote:

Don’t mean to pressure you, but it appears that PotomacCyclist’s summer plans hinge on your decision here

His diligence is much appreciated. He’s even been giving some feedback to the software developer behind the scenes!

[PotomacCyclist]

@scoot 115658 wrote:

Don’t mean to pressure you, but it appears that PotomacCyclist’s summer plans hinge on your decision here

1,000 Bike Racks in 60 Seconds! Go big or go home!

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