Open House Regarding Capital Bikeshare Stations at Gravelly Point & Roosevelt Island

[bobco85]

I’m getting asked for a username and password in order to view the survey. Do I just use my normal Google login information?

[rayatkinson]

@bobco85 154534 wrote:

I’m getting asked for a username and password in order to view the survey. Do I just use my normal Google login information?

I have programmed the survey (https://goo.gl/2oeINA) to not require a username and password so you should be able to complete the survey without needing to log into your Google account. Are you still being asked for a username and password to view the survey?

[EasyRider]

Ray, thanks for the opportunity to register an opinion. I’ve long been baffled by the addition of portable toilets in that location, for reasons of safety and aesethetics. So I don’t think a Bikeshare station right next to them is a great idea, either. The north or west sides of the parking lot is where I’d like to see a Bikeshare station. And the toilets.

[LeprosyStudyGroup]

Cabi stations need to be located everywhere in places that do not result in casual users stopping and standing around in the trail itself. Gravelly Point is already one of the worst spots in the region for this behavior, and placing a Cabi dock directly adjacent the trail like that will only make it worse. Gravelly Point is a great place to have a station, but it should be put on the perimeter of the parking lot visible from but recognizably away from the trail. The same goes for just about everywhere else whenever possible.

[Sunyata]

@EasyRider 154540 wrote:

Ray, thanks for the opportunity to register an opinion. I’ve long been baffled by the addition of portable toilets in that location, for reasons of safety and aesethetics. So I don’t think a Bikeshare station right next to them is a great idea, either. The north or west sides of the parking lot is where I’d like to see a Bikeshare station. And the toilets.

I wholeheartedly agree with this. Although, I added in my comments about sanitary reasons regarding the toilets. (eww! :confused: )

[AFHokie]

If I recall correctly from an airfield planning course I sat through many years ago, the Gravelly location is probably within the critical area immediately off the end of the runway which would likely require FAA approval as well

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930AZ using Tapatalk

[Emm]

@LeprosyStudyGroup 154546 wrote:

Cabi stations need to be located everywhere in places that do not result in casual users stopping and standing around in the trail itself. Gravelly Point is already one of the worst spots in the region for this behavior, and placing a Cabi dock directly adjacent the trail like that will only make it worse. Gravelly Point is a great place to have a station, but it should be put on the perimeter of the parking lot visible from but recognizably away from the trail. The same goes for just about everywhere else whenever possible.

I strongly agree with this, and I filled out the survey expressing as much. This spot is unsafe, especially if it gets used by tourists or others not very familiar with biking on MUPs. I bike through there on my commute–between people using the port-o-potties, children running around, and tourists crossing the trail without looking, it’s the worst spot on my commute. It also generally just smells bad, which isn’t fun! I think somewhere close to the trail but in the parking lot might be better.

[bobco85]

The parking lot sounds like a much better spot for a CaBi station. My recommendation is here (the 3 diagonal parking spots directly in front of the camera): https://goo.gl/maps/aerpZgq5bzj It’d be clearly visible from the trail and parking lot, so users would be able to see it with little trouble.

[rayatkinson]

@EasyRider 154540 wrote:

Ray, thanks for the opportunity to register an opinion. I’ve long been baffled by the addition of portable toilets in that location, for reasons of safety and aesethetics. So I don’t think a Bikeshare station right next to them is a great idea, either. The north or west sides of the parking lot is where I’d like to see a Bikeshare station. And the toilets.

Thank you for sharing your opinion! Arlington County is coordinating with the National Park Service and Motivate, who operates Capital Bikeshare, to site the new station in the best location possible. We previously sited the station on the north side of the parking lot before moving the station to the current location. Due to federal law that requires an uninterrupted capitol viewshed along the George Washington Memorial Parkway, the National Park Service asked us to move the station east of the portable toilets so we moved the station to the current location. If we can find a location that isn’t in the capitol viewshed, we are still considering the possibility of siting the station on the west side of the parking lot. Do you prefer any specific locations on the west side of the parking lot?

Since we were trying to site the station closer to the Gravelly Point access road, we asked the National Park Service whether they were open to moving the portable toilets closer to the access road so we could move the station closer to the access road. We learned that the portable toilets are not able to be moved anywhere. However, we were able to get the trash cans, which are located on the east side of the portable toilets, moved to a new location so we can install the station on the east side of the portable toilets. While we are currently planning to install the station on the east side of the portable toilets, we are open to changing the station location so feel free to share your thoughts.

[rayatkinson]

@LeprosyStudyGroup 154546 wrote:

Cabi stations need to be located everywhere in places that do not result in casual users stopping and standing around in the trail itself. Gravelly Point is already one of the worst spots in the region for this behavior, and placing a Cabi dock directly adjacent the trail like that will only make it worse. Gravelly Point is a great place to have a station, but it should be put on the perimeter of the parking lot visible from but recognizably away from the trail. The same goes for just about everywhere else whenever possible.

Thank you for sharing! I’m going to refer to the below photo in my reply. Currently, bikes would be accessed from the south side of the station, which faces towards the trail. We understand this could result in conflicts for trail users and station users so we are looking at several alternative options for the Gravelly Point station. One option is to rotate the current station 180 degrees so the bikes would be accessed from the north side of the station (away from the trail). Another option is to move the station to a new location. Do you like one of these options? If so, why do you like the option?

You wrote how you would put the station “on the perimeter of the parking lot visible from but recognizably away from the trail.” We previously sited the station on the north side of the parking lot before moving the station to the current location. Due to federal law that requires an uninterrupted capitol viewshed along the George Washington Memorial Parkway, the National Park Service asked us to move the station east of the portable toilets so we moved the station to the current location. If we can find a location that isn’t in the capitol viewshed, we are still considering the possibility of siting the station on the west side of the parking lot. Do you prefer any specific locations on the perimeter of the parking lot?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]13637[/ATTACH]

[rayatkinson]

@AFHokie 154549 wrote:

If I recall correctly from an airfield planning course I sat through many years ago, the Gravelly location is probably within the critical area immediately off the end of the runway which would likely require FAA approval as well

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930AZ using Tapatalk

You are correct. We are working through the proper channels to get approval to install the station. If you would like to share thoughts about the Gravelly Point and Roosevelt Island stations, feel free to share them here or through this survey (https://goo.gl/2oeINA). Thank you for sharing!

[bobco85]

Here’s where I think the station could go without much trouble (the image is to scale). The pic shows both the proposed site and my idea which would be to use some parking spaces (yellow is access area, blue is station area):
[ATTACH=CONFIG]13638[/ATTACH]

Btw, I was able to access the survey from home. Turns out my office doesn’t like Google Docs, so that’s why it was asking for a username and password.

[KLizotte]

@rayatkinson 154564 wrote:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]13637[/ATTACH]

No, no, no!!!!!!!!! That is the worst possible spot. That area is total chaos during daylight hours all day on weekends and afternoons/evenings during the week. It is like proposing a bus stop in the middle of Times Square. I thought Gravelly Pt was supposed to get a new bike path that led away from the crowds? We need that more than a Cabi station.

How about locating the station near the boat ramp or the other side of the intersection from the toilets.

The NPS is concerned about blocking the view but unconcerned about stinky, unsanitary port-o-potties?! Bizarre.

[Judd]

I responded to the survey. I share the general sentiment that the proposed site at Gravelly Point is the worst possible location that could be chosen. I appreciate the opportunity to provide feedback.

[scoot]

How about the SW corner of the parking lot? Still close enough for easy visibility and trail access without being so close as to be hazardous. Also a more pleasant experience for CaBi employees to rebalance than next to the toilets (though this station shouldn’t need much service)

[ATTACH=CONFIG]13641[/ATTACH]

[Author]

Posts