Foggy Bottom commute?

[jrenaut]

Do you want DC or Virginia? What type of neighborhood? Your description fits almost all of NW DC, and a bunch of Arlington VA, too.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@jrenaut 47089 wrote:

Do you want DC or Virginia? What type of neighborhood? Your description fits almost all of NW DC, and a bunch of Arlington VA, too.

And NE, SE and SW.

As far as ease of access goes, Arlington probably wins, simply because you can use trails for 90% of the ride if you live close enough to the Custis Trail or Mount Vernon Trail (MVT). If you lived in some place like Rosslyn, you could even walk in a pinch. If you follow the Custis Trail west, you pretty much have your pick of more urban or suburban style neighborhoods, and they’re all very safe and generally very walkable/bikeable. If you follow the MVT south, you’ll mainly be looking at condos/high rises, but metro/bike/walkability access is very good.

If you prefer DC over VA, I’d vote for Capitol Hill. Compared to the West End/Dupont, Foggy Bottom, Georgetown, etc, you can still find decently priced houses and apartments, it’s insanely walkable/bikeable, has tons of charm, and is generally very safe. Distance to Foggy Bottom = 4ish miles. Navy Yard/SE Waterfront would also be a good option to find slightly lower rents, but with awesome amenities.

[kwas]

@jrenaut 47089 wrote:

Do you want DC or Virginia? What type of neighborhood? Your description fits almost all of NW DC, and a bunch of Arlington VA, too.

I had planned on living in DC proper, but am open to Virginia. Ideally, I would be able to get to work on bike lanes or paths. From what I can tell, a lot of downtown DC has bad traffic. I guess my main problem is that people mostly write stuff on the internet about bad experiences with cars or getting bike-jacked, so it’s hard for me to tell how bike-friendly different areas really are. I will probably rent a bike to try things out during my apartment search, but wanted to know if there are any areas that bikers should focus on or avoid.

[jrenaut]

I live a few blocks from the Columbia Heights Metro stop. I bike down 14th St to work (There’s a bike lane most of the way which is heavily used) and up 15th home (protected cycletrack/bike lane). My wife goes up and back on 14th. The big difference for me is the hill – for most of the residential areas of NW DC, getting home from Foggy Bottom requires going up a large hill. My wife prefers the longer and gentler slope of 14th St, I prefer the quick and painful slope of 15th St.

Biking to Foggy Bottom from Columbia Heights is about as safe as you’re going to get riding in a city. Columbia Heights has its ups and downs, but it’s a great place to live (especially if you’re in the target market for the growing 11th St bar area).

Also, you don’t have to rent a bike. Get a Capital Bikeshare membership. I mean, you can rent a bike if you want, but CaBi is easier and cheaper and will still serve you well after you’re living here, even with your own bike.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@kwas 47094 wrote:

I had planned on living in DC proper, but am open to Virginia. Ideally, I would be able to get to work on bike lanes or paths. From what I can tell, a lot of downtown DC has bad traffic. I guess my main problem is that people mostly write stuff on the internet about bad experiences with cars or getting bike-jacked, so it’s hard for me to tell how bike-friendly different areas really are. I will probably rent a bike to try things out during my apartment search, but wanted to know if there are any areas that bikers should focus on or avoid.

DC generally has good N-S bike routes, but poor E-W crosstown routes. That said, you can get around most of downtown on bike lanes, and certainly SE/SW DC as well. Traffic downtown actually isn’t terrible, save for the main thoroughfares that MD and VA commuters use (15th st, K st, Constitution, Wisconsin, Connecticut, etc). I’d say bike infrastructure is most lacking in Georgetown and upper NW.

And although we complain about drivers and the dangerous things they do, our inaugural winter bike challenge just wrapped up…80ish folks participated, riding almost 75k miles, and to my knowledge there was only one car collision (jrenaut, right?) and no one got “bike-jacked.”

[dasgeh]

Welcome. I work in Foggy Bottom (way bottom – by Constitution). It’s one of the most bike-friendly areas of the city — bike-necessary if you work down where I am, since there’s not great connections to other public transport (ok, but not great).

The traffic in DC is bad for drivers, but good for cyclists — a lot of the congestion means that certain streets are actually fine to ride a bike on during rush hour, because speeds are a lot lower. (E.g. M Street through Georgetown). And Foggy Bottom traffic isn’t all that bad – most of the streets are pretty quiet.

Pretty much anything within 5 miles of my office is what I’d consider bike-friendly. You may go a little out of your way to stay on bike lanes/trails/really quiet streets, but you’ll be fine. Within 5 miles of Foggy Bottom you’ll also be pretty safe. Generally, west and north of FB is safer than east and south. It definitely sounds like more bikes get stolen in DC than Arlington. Oh, and there are some hills, which you’ll totally get used to. But the only way to avoid them is to live very close. You have less hill issues if you live south of U and east of 30th in DC, or if you live in Crystal City in Arlington.

In other words, within 5 miles of work, I don’t think the bike aspect is going to limit you. Then it comes down to what you want in a neighborhood. You say apartment: do you want highrise? group house? small apartment building? Do you want to walk out of your door and be at bars/restaurants? In a park? At a zoo? how important is it to you to have a grocery store nearby? movie theater? to be on a quiet street?

And the big question: what’s your budget?

When you come to visit, you can also try our AMAZING bikeshare system in leiu of renting a bike. Capital Bikeshare or CaBi around here.

Good luck!

[kwas]

Thanks, everyone! This is all really helpful so far, especially the N-S suggestion, and I will definitely use the Bikeshare. I did suspect that things weren’t all that bad, and am glad to have it officially confirmed!

[thucydides]

I commute from northwest Arlington to Foggy Bottom (GWU, specifically). My specific commute’s a little longer than you’ve requested (right on 8 miles). But really if you’re anywhere in the northern part of Arlington the commute to FB is simple. (And it’s pretty easy to metro or drive when you need.) In my case I take the Custis trail to the Roosevelt bridge which dumps me off at the Kennedy Center. From there anywhere you want to go in FB (State, GWU, IMF, WB) is quick, easy, and safe on surface streets. Likewise it’s easy to live anywhere near the Capital Crescent Trail (e.g., Bethesda, MD) and commute to FB. In that case the CCT dumps out onto K street about 1 miles east of FB.

Within the District is more variable. The aforementioned Columbia Heights is a dynamic neighborhood. Foggy Bottom or the adjacent West End neighborhood are better places to live in now than before (mainly due to improved retail) but I guess then you’d be walking to work rather than biking.

[kwas]

@dasgeh 47104 wrote:

In other words, within 5 miles of work, I don’t think the bike aspect is going to limit you. Then it comes down to what you want in a neighborhood. You say apartment: do you want highrise? group house? small apartment building? Do you want to walk out of your door and be at bars/restaurants? In a park? At a zoo? how important is it to you to have a grocery store nearby? movie theater? to be on a quiet street?

And the big question: what’s your budget?

Yes, unfortunately bikability is only one factor! I am pretty flexible, and have been happy living on a major downtown street and in a more quiet residential area, though I do prefer older/smaller buildings to new highrises. I do have some friends that live in the area (Alexandria) who can give general neighborhood advice, but they don’t bike.

The multiple suggestions for Arlington are certainly useful – I hadn’t really considered that area, for some reason, but will add it to my list of possibilities, especially since I don’t have a car and it would be handy to be able to take the Metro if it snows.

[jrenaut]

@TwoWheelsDC 47099 wrote:

And although we complain about drivers and the dangerous things they do, our inaugural winter bike challenge just wrapped up…80ish folks participated, riding almost 75k miles, and to my knowledge there was only one car collision (jrenaut, right?) and no one got “bike-jacked.”

I didn’t technically take part in the winter bike challenge, though I did bike all winter, and I did get my bike wrecked by an illegally turning cab driver in December. S**t happens. One accident in about three years and 4000+ miles.

[ShawnoftheDread]

@kwas 47112 wrote:

…it would be handy to be able to take the Metro if it snows.

I cannot endorse such behavior.

[Bilsko]

@kwas 47112 wrote:

Yes, unfortunately bikability is only one factor! I am pretty flexible, and have been happy living on a major downtown street and in a more quiet residential area, though I do prefer older/smaller buildings to new highrises. I do have some friends that live in the area (Alexandria) who can give general neighborhood advice, but they don’t bike.

The multiple suggestions for Arlington are certainly useful – I hadn’t really considered that area, for some reason, but will add it to my list of possibilities, especially since I don’t have a car and it would be handy to be able to take the Metro if it snows.

If you’re interested in quieter residential –with close proximity to active & busy, then you might add the lower section of the Palisades to your list (pretty much everything along MacArthur south of the Georgetown Resevoir – also all the Tudor houses between Foxhall Rd and the Georgetown campus). Quiet neighborhood, only about a 5 minute bike to Georgetown (and 10-15 minutes into Roslyn/Arlington). I live just a little further up MacArthur and, via MacArthur, the CCT trail, and Water Street (to bypass M. St in Georgetown), my commute to work – office very near Foggy Bottom, on L St.- is pretty much guaranteed to come in at 10-12 minutes.

The downside is that there is no Metro access up through the Palisades and there are only two bus lines (which are pretty good).

My $.02

[dasgeh]

@kwas 47112 wrote:

Yes, unfortunately bikability is only one factor! I am pretty flexible, and have been happy living on a major downtown street and in a more quiet residential area, though I do prefer older/smaller buildings to new highrises. I do have some friends that live in the area (Alexandria) who can give general neighborhood advice, but they don’t bike.

The multiple suggestions for Arlington are certainly useful – I hadn’t really considered that area, for some reason, but will add it to my list of possibilities, especially since I don’t have a car and it would be handy to be able to take the Metro if it snows.

Arlington is a lot of newer high rises and group homes (older and newer). In DC, you’ll find more older, smaller apartment buildings (e.g. townhomes converted so each floor is its own apartment). If I were you, I’d start looking in Dupont/Logan Circle area (or Woodley Park – steps from the Zoo! So cool). Of course, the closer to Metro, the higher the rent. You can save some by looking for places where bus would be your non-bike alt. (e.g. Logan). Even in Arlington, closer to Metro = more expensive.

There are lots of promising, fun places to live in DC. Good luck.

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