MGM Casino – National Harbor to include 130 bike parking spaces, in theory

[PotomacCyclist]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dr-gridlock/wp/2015/08/14/mgm-national-harbor-changes-stance-on-transit-will-allow-metro-buses-on-site/

I’m not sure how many people will be biking to the casino. There will be 3,600 employees at the new casino, which is scheduled to open by the end of 2016. Many of them may bike to work.

I haven’t heard a lot of great things about the bike network in that area. I’ve ridden around National Harbor a few times in the past, but not recently. People have mentioned that there aren’t great bike connections to DC or to most of the surrounding area in Prince George’s County. The Wilson Bridge trail offers a convenient connection to Old Town Alexandria. I didn’t have any problems biking from the bridge to the casino site in the past. Just keep in mind that after you leave the bridge trail, the connection to National Harbor is a crushed shell path that can be very hard on skinny road tires. I’ve only ridden there on mountain bike or cyclocross tires.

Like others, I have experienced some issues with the security personnel at the main National Harbor site. Apparently they try to discourage people from riding around the main NH area for some reason. But I managed to get over to the street network anyway.

I don’t know about any plans to join Capital Bikeshare. The County executive has tweeted about bikeshare in the past, but that doesn’t really count for much if there are no other efforts. The County has not joined CaBi yet. Until they do, there won’t be CaBi stations at National Harbor or the MGM Casino. I would definitely ride over there more often if they had CaBi stations. If they do add stations, they would need to add several. If they only had one station and it was full or empty, the nearest station would be in Old Town or in SE DC. Way too long to walk within a reasonable amount of time.

Topic

[Oldtowner]

National Harbor was built for car access only. The whole development is sealed off from the rest of PG County so even walking there is difficult. Parking, of course, is not free. Parking fees seem to be part of the business model.

You won’t have to use the crushed shell trail to get to MGM. It is already accessible via paved trail, but there will be an eventually busy street to cross to actually get there. I don’t expect any crosswalks. That’s just not the way this place was designed. I wonder how people are supposed to get from National Harbor to MGM. I imagine a shuttle bus system. Walking or cycling does not seem to part of the plan. The whole transportation plan seems really poorly thought out.

[Kolohe]

Parking won’t be free? Every casino I’ve ever been to in the US has huge-a, uh huge-acre parking garages with free parking.

[Oldtowner]

Parking is definitely not free at National Harbor, but I assume will be free at MGM. It’s just not easy to get from one to the other except by car.

[Kolohe]

Oh ok. I misread what you said, sorry.

[Starduster]

“…the connection to National Harbor is a crushed shell path that can be very hard on skinny road tires.” And the last time I rode there, you couldn’t ride any farther than an *unmarked* point outside the harbor’s plaza. They weren’t very bicycle friendly then. Has it changed?

[PotomacCyclist]

I haven’t been over there in a while, maybe not since last year. I’ve been able to get over to the street network in the main NH development before. Maybe the security guards missed me on those days. Or maybe I walked the bike through the sidewalk area before getting to the street. I don’t remember.

I think the security guards only spoke to me on a couple occasions. On others, I didn’t have any problems, but maybe that was just luck and the guards were on a different block at those times.

All I remember is that on some trips, I’ve been able to ride all over National Harbor on the mountain bike.

[jabberwocky]

I used to ride there occasionally, but after getting regularly harassed by the security guards on a few occasions I stopped. They clearly don’t want bikes there, and I’m happy to patronize businesses elsewhere.

[TwoWheelsDC]

I think this quote sums up how out of touch MGM is here…

More than 550,000 cubic yards of earth excavated from site – enough to fill Ravens Stadium in Baltimore

[Anonymous]

I’ve ridden in National Harbor a couple times and not been stopped or harassed, but it is clearly designed to be accessed by car and only by car. It is fenced off from the surrounding neighborhoods, with only one way in; people who live what should be easy walking distance (and certainly biking distance) instead of being able to just walk over have to drive 4 or 5 miles around the perimeter to enter (and, yes, then park in the garages). If there are bike racks anywhere other than the end of the gravel path, I can’t remember seeing them. I attended a conference there for work a couple months ago and rode there (with trailer full of display props, so I needed something other than a signpost on the sidewalk to lock up to). Rode up to the hotel entrance and asked the parking valet where the closest bike rack was. He had no idea. He helped me find a spot (actually he moved a bench out of the way to make room) to lock up to a fence in front of the hotel, but there was no place actually intended for me to park my bike.

[KLizotte]

I’ve never had a problem with security but I do wish there was a paved trail all the way to the complex from the bridge. There are bike racks located throughout the property (next to the streets) although they could certainly use more in prime locations, esp in the more pedestrianized areas. I like to ride there for lunch or early dinner cause it’s a nice, pleasant ride (until I hit the seashells). I won’t drive there because the parking fees are high even though I support the concept of requiring drivers to pay for all parking so that they internalize that cost. It’s free if I bike there! Wish there were more healthy food available.

[Subby]

Looking forward to biking to MGM casino and pwning dumbass tourists and then using my winnings to buy a sweetass ride. /lifegoals

[Rod Smith]

It’s a nice climb from the Wilson Bridge to Oxon Farm which has a dirt road downhill to secluded Oxon Cove. Very nice. There is some more dirt further down the trail, not much, a little flat singletrack and a small creek crossing. Stop at National Harbor? No thanks, just passing through.

[mattotoole]

I’ve ridden over there a lot from Alexandria. I don’t mind the gravel path, even on rainy days (it’s cleaner than road dirt). And the bike parking is already better than average for the DC area, with good bike racks right in front of the major businesses.

IIRC, there are signs banning riding on the paths through the property. This is no different from Washington Harbor, where I’m pretty sure I would be stopped. I’ve slow-rolled all around National Harbor without any problems. Maybe they’re amenable to dialing this back a little.

Lack of connectivity to surrounding neighborhoods is no different from malls and bigbox store properties across America. Mostly it’s just not being considered, unless bike advocates speak up. Who might that be in that part of PG County, besides WABA?

Admittedly, casinos and Walmarts don’t like connectivity. They’d rather keep it easier to just stay on the property, to spend all your money there. Old Town’s restaurants and bars may be a competitive threat, but a bike path into Ft. Washington may help bring the the neighborhood in to enjoy the restaurants, cafes and other attractions.

Sell the benefits.

[Author]

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