Bike Parking at Metro Stations

[MCL1981]

WMATA’s staff is on salary to lie 24/7 to the media and customers. Assume anything they say, especially anything from the mouth of Dan Stessel, is a bold face lie. So this is not surprising. Also, WMATA is not a transit agency. It is a jobs program. Once you realize that, everything else about them makes sense. Of course they can’t count.

[chris_s]

You’re counting each staple as two spaces right? One bike on each side of the staple?

[DaveK]

@MCL1981 27817 wrote:

WMATA’s staff is on salary to lie 24/7 to the media and customers. Assume anything they say, especially anything from the mouth of Dan Stessel, is a bold face lie. So this is not surprising. Also, WMATA is not a transit agency. It is a jobs program. Once you realize that, everything else about them makes sense. Of course they can’t count.

Not everyone at WMATA is useless. They have some dedicated and talented planning staff working on bike issues.

[Greenbelt]

@chris_s 27839 wrote:

You’re counting each staple as two spaces right? One bike on each side of the staple?

Yes — that’s how WMATA counted. So my pictures probably make the racks look fuller than they actually are. Still, I was surprised that they showed Greenbelt having so many emptys. Plus, they just added 6 or 8 racks on the west side recently and they’re already (mostly) filled even with lots of people still locking to the MARC fence.

[5555624]

They are also only counting “their” bike racks. At Ballston, for example, there are a couple of racks closer to the escalators than the “official” racks.

[MCL1981]

@DaveK 27841 wrote:

Not everyone at WMATA is useless. They have some dedicated and talented planning staff working on bike issues.

I’m sure they do. Sadly, they’re a vast minority. It starts at the top, and trickles all the way down.

[Justin Antos]

Yes, the census counted each rack as space for 2 bikes. Also, the map shows the net availability for each station, so for stations with more than one entrance, one side may have been full, and the other not. (Data at the station-entrance level should also be in that spreadsheet). And we try to hit “peak” by counting in late spring, but it’s just a single snapshot in time.

Thanks for the tip on the west side of Greenbelt station. We installed more racks on that side a couple weeks ago, in response to the census actually, and it’s great to see them being used. Looks like we need even more! Especially to give people an alternative to locking to the MARC railing there.

If you see inadequate bike parking at your Metro station, please let us know!

[Greenbelt]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1588[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]1589[/ATTACH]

Brand new bike racks at Greenbelt Metro — inside even! Thanks Justin.

PS — I think they intend to install this “inside” rack outside, but wouldn’t it be great to have some indoor parking? I hope so many cyclists lock up there that it becomes a permanant site.

[Terpfan]

@Justin Antos 28143 wrote:

Yes, the census counted each rack as space for 2 bikes. Also, the map shows the net availability for each station, so for stations with more than one entrance, one side may have been full, and the other not. (Data at the station-entrance level should also be in that spreadsheet). And we try to hit “peak” by counting in late spring, but it’s just a single snapshot in time.

Thanks for the tip on the west side of Greenbelt station. We installed more racks on that side a couple weeks ago, in response to the census actually, and it’s great to see them being used. Looks like we need even more! Especially to give people an alternative to locking to the MARC railing there.

If you see inadequate bike parking at your Metro station, please let us know!

Glad to know some WMATA employees are on the ball and that you’re out seeking input. So thank you.

As for parking, my station (Braddock Rd) is usually fine, at least at the times I go. I’m sure the collective group of cyclists would love on of those fancy lockup type stations such as at College Park, but we don’t have nearly that level of space.

[KLizotte]

@Greenbelt 29408 wrote:

Brand new bike racks at Greenbelt Metro — inside even! Thanks Justin.

PS — I think they intend to install this “inside” rack outside, but wouldn’t it be great to have some indoor parking? I hope so many cyclists lock up there that it becomes a permanant site.

Rosslyn also has indoor bike parking (but using a different type of rack). The first time I saw it, I thought, “Wow”, what a great idea. Less theft and out of the elements.

[Justin Antos]

Yes, we just installed even more outdoor racks on the west side of Greenbelt (the row on the left in the second picture), in response to usage. And, we intend to try keeping the racks on sleds inside the station area to provide weather protection.

[Greenbelt]

@Justin Antos 29517 wrote:

Yes, we just installed even more outdoor racks on the west side of Greenbelt (the row on the left in the second picture), in response to usage. And, we intend to try keeping the racks on sleds inside the station area to provide weather protection.

Excellent work! The indoor option is really cool.

[Greenbelt]

I rode through the station this afternoon — there was nobody parked on the inside racks, even though the outside racks were medium filled up and plenty of bikes on the MARC rail.

I think people don’t realize it’s OK to park there. Maybe a temporary sign would say it’s OK and get the ball rolling?

[CPTJohnC]

@Justin Antos 28143 wrote:

And we try to hit “peak” by counting in late spring, but it’s just a single snapshot in time.

If you see inadequate bike parking at your Metro station, please let us know!

I would have to say that the counts at Vienna, East Falls Church and West Falls Church seem pretty low (or high) in terms of my experience of the usage of rack spaces; Prior to the current construction, Vienna frequently had all or almost all rack spaces filled and many bikes parked along railings, against trees, etc… likewise, I can never recall seeing anywhere close to the number of available spots listed at EFC or WFC (based on the many times I’ve used each, or walked through the bike parking). Obviously I wasn’t doing a ‘scientific’ survey, but I was often trying to park my bike, and finding a vacant spot at the racks could be tough. I wonder, though, if Metro had done a recent sweep to eliminate abandoned bikes, which seem to take up anywhere from 5% to 15% of available spots sometimes.

[Author]

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