Proposed Capital Bikeshare Locations opposed by Bluemont Civic Association – vote

[arlmom]

I am a resident in Bluemont, in North Arlington, and I read in the latest issue of the Bluemont Civic Association’s newsletter that there was a resolution put forward at the March 25, 2015 meeting to oppose placement of two Capital Bikeshare stations as supported by Capital Bikeshare, Arlington County, and residents that suggested those locations. I think that opposing the stations is a step in the wrong direction for supporting a bike friendly Arlington.

Please consider coming to the April 22 General Membership meeting to speak in favor of these Capital Bikeshare locations and voting to support them and oppose the resolution. The meeting is at 7:30 pm at Arlington Traditional School, 855 N. Edison St., Arlington, VA 22205.

I very much support the proposed locations and hope that others will too.

Here’s the language on the resolution found in the April 2015 newsletter:

The Bluemont Civic Association (BCA) welcomes the interest expressed by Capital Bikeshare and Arlington County in locating additional Bikeshare stations within Bluemont and notes that Bluemont residents recently supported such an expansion in its Neighborhood Conservation Plan.
Notwithstanding that general support, the BCA is particularly opposed to certain proposed Bikeshare locations on N. Harrison Street and along the Bluemont Junction Park for the following reasons.

N. HARRISON STREET
A letter, dated March 11, 2015 signed by Mr. Jason Hardin, consultant to Arlington County Commuter Services proposed a Capital Bikeshare Station located on North Harrison Street and Fairfax Drive.

The BCA is particularly opposed to this location because of the potential safety hazards having a Capital Bikeshare station at North Harrison Street. The potential safety hazard includes traffic obscuration based on the 6’x3’ Bikeshare station marketing and mapping sign from the St. Ann parking lot; the potential safety hazard to the bike renter exiting the bike rack directly onto a heavy residential traffic flow with no bike paths or speed controls except speed bumps placed on North Harrison Street to calm the traffic; the potential safety hazard to the St. Ann elementary school children by increasing access to school grounds by bike renters, short cutting to Custis Trail and; the potential safety hazard caused by a dangerous dip in the road that obscures the full view of the Capital Bikeshare station until the last few seconds traveling south from Washington Boulevard on North Harrison Street between 11th and 10th Streets.
 The BCA is also opposed to the location based on its close proximity to single family residences, the change in the neighborhood appearance, and potential parking complications.
 As an alternative Bikeshare station location to serve the same general area, the BCA suggests that Capital Bikeshare consider locating a station ¼ mile west down Fairfax Drive at the junction of Westover Park and Bon Air Park.
Therefore,
Be it resolved that BCA opposes the location of a Bikeshare station on any part of North Harrison Street with particular emphasis at the location close to Fairfax Drive as detailed in the March 11, 2015, letter referenced above to residents of the Bluemont neighborhood.

BLUEMONT JUNCTION PARK/BIKE TRAIL
Capital Bikeshare, through an Arlington County Commuter Services consultant, has also advised BCA of plans to install a bike rental station along the Bluemont Junction Trail between N. Emerson St. and N. Jefferson St. With regard to this proposal, BCA calls attention to the following:
 BCA has worked closely with County staff for many years on the use and appearance of the beautiful and unique stretch of the Bluemont Junction Park between N. Emerson and N. Jefferson Streets.
 This stretch of open park is used by many neighbors and Arlington Citizens for many purposes and is one of a very few unbroken open green spaces in any neighborhood in Arlington.
 The bike stations comprise an approximately 45 foot long concrete slab, commercialized signage, and brightly painted metal structure that is inconsistent the with open green space character of the Bluemont Junction Park.
 The stretch of the Bluemont Junction Park between N. Emerson and N. Jefferson traverses a narrow area that is close to single family homes which will be disproportionately affected by the look, use, and truck servicing of the station.
 Neighborhood streets along the Bluemont Junction Park have experienced problems with commuter parking and neighbors are concerned about parking connected to the bike station.
 BCA neighbors have made constructive suggestions and offered to work with BikeShare on reasonable alternative locations, including along Wilson Boulevard, where bike lanes will be created this Spring.
 BCA neighbors are deeply troubled about setting a precedent of installing single purpose infrastructure in the Bluemont Junction Park between N. Emerson open green space.
Therefore,
Be it resolved that BCA opposes the installation of a bike share station at any location in the stretch of Bluemont Junction Trail between N. Emerson and N. Jefferson Streets.

Here’s a link to the newsletter: http://www.bluemontcivic.org/newsletters/BCA_News_201504.pdf

Topic

[DismalScientist]

As far as I can tell, station location decision-making was started using a crowd-sourcing map, whose input was primarily from cyclists. As far as I know, the proposed station locations in my neighborhood have never been run by the local community organizations. This is a procedure that will likely cause conflicts at the last moment.

As I stated before, I don’t see why one would ever place stations that are not located at a significant destination, be it commercial districts, schools, (significant) parks, or apartment buildings. I see no reason to put stations at connections alone. Are people going to ride east to the connection point, change bikes, and ride north? This makes no sense.

In my neighborhood, there is a proposed station at Ohio and 14th, which is not a destination. I have proposed moving that to Madison Manor Park. Either station will (somewhat poorly) serve the WOD.

In Bluemont, I don’t see the reason for any station along the trail as there is no destination there.

[Steve O]

@sjclaeys 114155 wrote:

I was an email that went out to residents, though I do not live in Bluemont. I hope that sharing this encourages forum members in Bluemont to get involved and to let ArlCo know about the nature of the opposition.

It does not appear that one need be a resident of Bluemont to participate in the survey. Or at least there does not appear to be any way they could tell otherwise if one were not.

[83b]

@dasgeh 114158 wrote:

I’ve been stuck in this country for the past month. UGH.

Being there might actually be better than dealing with the 12 hour time difference! Dirty negotiating tactics plus 9PM-4AM teleconferences push people’s patience and civility past the breaking point even more quickly.

[mstone]

@DismalScientist 114174 wrote:

As I stated before, I don’t see why one would ever place stations that are not located at a significant destination, be it commercial districts, schools, (significant) parks, or apartment buildings. I see no reason to put stations at connections alone. Are people going to ride east to the connection point, change bikes, and ride north? This makes no sense.

In my neighborhood, there is a proposed station at Ohio and 14th, which is not a destination. I have proposed moving that to Madison Manor Park. Either station will (somewhat poorly) serve the WOD.

In Bluemont, I don’t see the reason for any station along the trail as there is no destination there.

Given the way the cabi pricing works, I can see that people may want to daisy chain to increase the range of free rides. Whether this quirk of pricing makes sense is a different question.

It also seems to me that there’s a set of people who would be more likely to walk to a trail to get on a bike than walk to a suburban commercial district to get on a bike. The trail then may take them to somewhere they want to go. So I don’t see this as completely insane. How many people would do this? I have no idea. The really neat thing is, we can conduct an experiment: put in the bikeshare station, see how much utilization it gets, and if it’s underutilized…move it. The things are designed to be easy to relocate.

[OneEighth]

@Steve O 114175 wrote:

It does not appear that one need be a resident of Bluemont to participate in the survey. Or at least there does not appear to be any way they could tell otherwise if one were not.

Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

[bobco85]

Some useful information from http://www.bikearlington.com/pages/bikesharing/planned-arlington-stations/

Physical Criteria for Station Locations

Criteria for station locations include:

• 4+ hours of direct sunlight daily
• at least 11′ x 42′ of space
• between 2 – 5 blocks (500′ – 1,250′) from the nearest station
• if on a sidewalk, minimum pedestrian clearance of 6′ is needed
• if on-street, preference for being adjacent or near a bike lane
• would not block utility access, such as a manhole cover
• would not create a dangerous situation for street users

Given these criteria, the proposed locations (including future ones on the expansion map, see link above) make a lot more sense. These locations may become like the Virginia Square Metro a.k.a. “filler” stations that will help with further expansion while providing greater access to the network for people in Bluemont.

As someone who lives near and makes good use of a “filler” bikeshare station (Pershing/George Mason), I think the proposed locations are excellent for the people of Bluemont.

[baiskeli]

@mstone 114166 wrote:

Uh-huh. So if you convince the BCA, there will never be a “Friends of Keeping Children Safe” to drag the fight out even longer.

There might be, but who cares? If the BCA is on board, you point to that. And as you noted, BCA approval is not required either.

[DismalScientist]

Do you really think that CaBi should maintain stations every 5 blocks in a sea of single family homes?

The residential density at Pershing and George Mason is much higher than anything in Bluemont.

[arlmom]

Thanks for all of the conversation on this issue. I value the dialogue.

Regarding the single family home use question, I can answer for myself. I would use it. My husband, two kids (ages 1 and 4), and I enjoy riding our bikes from our single family home up the street from the proposed Harrison St. location. We tend to ride cargo bikes now to take the kids where we need and want to go. However, on the days that I can go into work on my own (having my husband drop the kids off at daycare/preschool), I could take a bikeshare bike to the Ballston metro from the N. Harrison St station and be at the metro in about 10 minutes (give or take). This is perfect on days when I don’t want to ride my own bike to Ballston and park it there with my concern of bike and accessory (child seat, lights, etc.) theft or vandalism.

I would also use it on the weekends to ride into Clarendon, Virginia Square, and the District. When the proposed Westover location is built, I’ll ride there too. I’ll also likely ride to other points on the W&OD and Custis Trails where there are playgrounds or other spots to get out and enjoy the outdoors. So, although it isn’t a hub of super dense housing, there are a lot of people that currently walk from the neighborhood into Ballston to catch the metro or get to work and return home every day. There are a lot of people that would likely use it to get to and from work, get to a local restaurant or bar, enjoy time with friends, pick up a few groceries, etc. I think that there are a number of families with children that will use the stations so they can explore areas with their kids, walk around, find another bikeshare location to rent from or take the metro, and then carry on. There is a simplicity in not having to keep your bike with you that comes with bikeshare. I also know that I would like to see a station for my kids when they are riding an adult sized bike (which will probably be here before I know it).

The bottom line is that a station like this will open up new avenues for bikeshare and get more people that may not be using the system much more engaged and riding more because they can ride from home or to home.

[bobco85]

@DismalScientist 114183 wrote:

Do you really think that CaBi should maintain stations every 5 blocks in a sea of single family homes?

The residential density at Pershing and George Mason is much higher than anything in Bluemont.

In the context of expanding the bikeshare network long-term, yes, because CaBi will need stepping stone locations such as the 2 being proposed.

I think CaBi’s goal is to provide more access, not necessarily have every station be in the densest and/or most profitable areas. Over time, I think the real value of the locations will be found in the fact that there will be more places where one won’t be very far from a CaBi station, making it always an option for transportation.

[baiskeli]

@DismalScientist 114183 wrote:

Do you really think that CaBi should maintain stations every 5 blocks in a sea of single family homes?

The residential density at Pershing and George Mason is much higher than anything in Bluemont.

I think there will be enough users from the neighborhoods to support it. However, I think it would make even more sense to put the stations near destinations such as parks, schools etc. so they get traffic going both directions.

I’d like to see it expand all the way to Falls Church.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

That location is very near the Arlington Forest Swimclub, a very popular destination for this part of Arlington. My neighborhood list-serve always gets queries about selling/buying/trading memberships.

[Steve O]

@baiskeli 114196 wrote:

I think there will be enough users from the neighborhoods to support it. However, I think it would make even more sense to put the stations near destinations such as parks, schools etc.

How about a church and a school?

[scoot]

@Steve O 114175 wrote:

It does not appear that one need be a resident of Bluemont to participate in the survey. Or at least there does not appear to be any way they could tell otherwise if one were not.

Well, if I truthfully answer what street I live on, they’ll certainly know. Then again, if I were to leave off the “S” they might assume it’s “N” and not catch on.

[baiskeli]

@Steve O 114200 wrote:

How about a church and a school?

Well, yes, those would be included.

I didn’t say I agreed with BCA’s opposition to the locations.

[Author]

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