#SafeTrack: when WMATA made everyone a bicyclist

[VA2DC]

@Tania 141145 wrote:

To get from north side of Fairfax to the south, the “official” bike trains have been turning left immediately at Wakefield, then a right on 11St N and then a right on Taylor. It’s almost NO traffic at all (and very pleasant). Then we go across Fairfax on Taylor and cut through Welburn Square to 9th Street and re-join Fairfax at Monroe (at Va Square Metro).

The route in the past two mornings has been very low stress as far as traffic and very new city-cyclist friendly. Heading west is another story mostly due to increased traffic volume.

What kind of ridership have the bike trains been getting?

[Tania]

No riders at all on the ones I’ve been helping with; I get the feeling a lot of potential new bike commuters maybe aren’t quite sure what we’re doing, how to join us for a bike train or are a little nervous about continuing on into DC by themselves. I also get the (strong) feeling that BikeArlington and WABA are looking at ways to remedy all that.

[bobco85]

Just finished my video for SafeTrack Surge 2! I added a lot more content based on the helpful feedback that I received, so I hope it is improved over my Surge 1 video.

[video=youtube_share;3S6Zztgjx0k]https://youtu.be/3S6Zztgjx0k[/video]

This is the first video I’ve made where I actually had to write a script and read it out loud. Numerous takes were done due to the occasional jingling of a feline in my domicile who doesn’t understand that I’m just trying to talk to a metal box sometimes

I already have ideas for Surges 3 and 4 based on what I did here, but again, I’m open to feedback. Thank you for the feedback so far.

[Judd]

@bobco85 141737 wrote:

Just finished my video for SafeTrack Surge 2! I added a lot more content based on the helpful feedback that I received, so I hope it is improved over my Surge 1 video.

[video=youtube_share;3S6Zztgjx0k]https://youtu.be/3S6Zztgjx0k[/video]

This is the first video I’ve made where I actually had to write a script and read it out loud. Numerous takes were done due to the occasional jingling of a feline in my domicile who doesn’t understand that I’m just trying to talk to a metal box sometimes

I already have ideas for Surges 3 and 4 based on what I did here, but again, I’m open to feedback. Thank you for the feedback so far.

The narration came off well and you incorporated the maps into the video really well as well, which I think was really needed for this route since it’s a lot more complicated than the first Safetrack route and involves a lot more road usage. Incorporating a direct link to the route map in the video description (so people don’t have to look for it on the Safetrack websites that you linked to) is the only think I can think of that would make this better, except maybe including some video of your cat. People love cats.

[bobco85]

My SafeTrack Surge #3 video is about 80% complete. All that remains is to write a script, record my voiceover, reduce the shakiness of the footage, and upload to Youtube. It should be up by Saturday afternoon. SafeTrack Surge #3 (Braddock Rd to National Airport) runs from July 5 (Tuesday) through July 11 (week from Monday).

I gathered all of my footage for the SafeTrack Surge #4 video earlier this week, so once the Surge #3 video is complete, I’ll turn my attention to that. SafeTrack Surge #4 (Pentagon City to National Airport) runs from July 12 (week from Tuesday) through July 18 (2 weeks from Monday).

Then, for SafeTrack Surge #5 (East Falls Church to Ballston), I’m mulling over the possibility of putting it in the newer voiceover format using the same footage as from my original Surge #1 video.

…and to think that earlier this year I was complaining about not having something bike-related to focus on

[bobco85]

I finished my video for Metro SafeTrack Surge 3!

In this video, I chose 2 major routes that people could take branching off of the Potomac Yard Trail (best access to the Braddock Rd station). One route (magenta) heads to Crystal City and toward Pentagon City, and the other route (yellow) heads to National Airport and toward DC. I decided to show how to access the bike parking then get to the station entrance at National Airport, so that part was fun to make (it’s the 2nd time I’ve walked on that stretch with my bicycle, the 1st time being for my Bike the Metro series).

I developed a bit of a cold when I recorded the voiceovers, so hopefully those aren’t too filled with hearing my stuffy nose. Enjoy! (Achoo!)

[video=youtube_share;2LyWtQFWZyM]https://youtu.be/2LyWtQFWZyM[/video]

[bobco85]

Currently working on my SafeTrack Surge #4 (Pentagon City to National Airport) video, I am about 30% done. The video should be complete by Sunday, July 10.

[bobco85]

My video for SafeTrack Surge 4 is finally complete and ready for viewing.

For this video, I chose 2 criss-crossing routes. The first shows how to access Boundary Channel Dr from the 14th St Bridge to get to the Pentagon and parts south, and the second shows how to get through the area if coming from Penrose. I wanted to show the Boundary Channel Dr/Long Bridge Dr route but opted to show only 2 routes with some references of where that way leads. Enjoy!

[video=youtube_share;grp4t82dJv4]https://youtu.be/grp4t82dJv4[/video]

(Edit) If you’re wondering, yes, the footage of getting from the bike parking to the National Airport Metro entrance is the same as what I used for my surge 3 video. I figured that I should show it but filming the same thing again would be unnecessary.

[bobco85]

Metro SafeTrack Surge 5 starts tomorrow and is the same as Surge 1 (single-tracking between East Falls Church and Ballston). It will last til the end of July.

I didn’t make a new video because that would be redundant, but here’s my old video of the bike route (the only one I didn’t record voiceovers for) for a visual reference:
[video=youtube_share;1pa1zS1XhBU]https://youtu.be/1pa1zS1XhBU[/video]

This video was also made before WABA, BikeArlington, etc. put up their SafeTrack wayfinding signs, so those should help even more.

[Lt. Dan]

Thanks for making that video! I shared it on Facebook

[bobco85]

I found out about a bike ride that WABA and MCDOT will be sponsoring for SafeTrack on Sunday, July 31, 2016. I added the event to the forum calendar along with a link: https://org.salsalabs.com/o/451/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=94743&_ga=1.4781107.1851276899.1469799150

They will be riding from Glenmont to West Hyattsville to show an alternative to taking the Metro during the upcoming SafeTrack surges 6 (Takoma to Silver Spring; Red line; August 1-7) and 7 (Shady Grove to Twinbrook; Red line; August 9-18). The cost is $10 to attend.

In other news: I am about 60% complete with my biking video for SafeTrack Surge 6. It should be completed and up on Youtube by Sunday.

[Steve O]

@bobco85 143671 wrote:

I found out about a bike ride that WABA and MCDOT will be sponsoring for SafeTrack on Sunday, July 31, 2016. I added the event to the forum calendar along with a link: https://org.salsalabs.com/o/451/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=94743&_ga=1.4781107.1851276899.1469799150

They will be riding from Glenmont to West Hyattsville to show an alternative to taking the Metro during the upcoming SafeTrack surges 6 (Takoma to Silver Spring; Red line; August 1-7) and 7 (Shady Grove to Twinbrook; Red line; August 9-18). The cost is $10 to attend.

And another one, too, the following weekend:
Saturday, 8/6, 10 am – Shady Grove Metro to Twinbrook Metro
Start location: Shady Grove Metro
Distance: approx. 6.5 miles (mostly road)
https://org.salsalabs.com/o/451/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=94744&_ga=1.227399965.1232654930.1468342470

[bobco85]

@Steve O 143674 wrote:

And another one, too, the following weekend:
Saturday, 8/6, 10 am – Shady Grove Metro to Twinbrook Metro
Start location: Shady Grove Metro
Distance: approx. 6.5 miles (mostly road)
https://org.salsalabs.com/o/451/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=94744&_ga=1.227399965.1232654930.1468342470

Cool! I added the event to the forum calendar for reference.

[ShawnoftheDread]

$10 to attend a WMATA event to help commuters get through WMATA’s craptasticness is simply hilarious.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bentbike33]

@ShawnoftheDread 143680 wrote:

$10 to attend a WMATA event to help commuters get through WMATA’s craptasticness is simply hilarious.

Yeah, for $10 there better be a whole lotta swag.

[Author]

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