Whatever happened to Alexandria’s bikeshare expansion?

[CaseyKane50]

@bkingva 182020 wrote:

I’m wondering if anybody has any insights into whatever happened to the 10-station CaBi expansion that the city Traffic & Parking Board approved over a year ago. (I guess it’s 11 stations including one near Port City Brewery.) This city website says the expansion was “currently planned for the Spring 2018,” as does this October 2017 Washington Post story. The Post also reported that Alexandria “has funds for 50 stations through 2020, but officials say they will evaluate bike-sharing needs next year before proceeding.”

I’ve been pestering various city officials and council candidates about the issue, and all anyone has been able to do is send me a statement from the Complete Streets program that some unexplained difficulties had arisen. But they hope to be able to report “good news” soon.

The station I’m most interested in is the one in the Potomac Yard shopping center, which is a popular destination that lacks any stations in reasonable walking distance. (I live across the street from it and pretty much have a 15-minute walk to get to any CaBi bikes — for example, if I wanted to bike to Del Ray, I first have to walk to Del Ray to get a bike.) But having more stations throughout the city would exponentially increase the usefulness of the entire network, the way it has in Arlington.

Does anybody know what the holdup is?

My understanding is that a MOU had expired that had to be redone. It is currently working its way through various government entities for approval. I would guess that we won’t see any new stations until next spring.

[Judd]

@CaseyKane50 182024 wrote:

My understanding is that a MOU had expired that had to be redone. It is currently working its way through various government entities for approval. I would guess that we won’t see any new stations until next spring.

For the CaBi stations, I’ve heard a very vague “acquisition issue.”

[lordofthemark]

I would also note that Complete Streets staff has been short handed for some of this period, so that may be slowing the process down.

[bkingva]

Thank you, everyone, for the insights. But it is disappointing to hear that nearly two years could go by between the city approving new stations and actually building a single one of them.

[Judd]

@bkingva 182124 wrote:

Thank you, everyone, for the insights. But it is disappointing to hear that nearly two years could go by between the city approving new stations and actually building a single one of them.

It is indeed frustrating that non went in this year, especially since the expansion would put stations in western Alexandria where there’s currently none. I’m excited about the prospect of being able to ride a CaBi to Port City in particular.

IIRC, Darren Buck said at an earlier BPAC meeting that staff was going to do a fresh survey for the next set of stations after this year’s were installed.

Also, bikingva, I don’t think I’ve met you. If you’re interested in what’s going on (and working to improve) walking and biking in Alexandria, you should come to Alexandria BPAC meetings which are the second Monday of each month from 7-9 p.m. at the Bradlee Safeway.

[bkingva]

I would love to come — I just recently moved to the city from Arlington but was interested in learning more about the lay of the land here, including who does what. I did notice that BPAC’s website has more updates about what T&ES is doing than T&ES’ website does.

@Judd 182175 wrote:

Also, bikingva, I don’t think I’ve met you. If you’re interested in what’s going on (and working to improve) walking and biking in Alexandria, you should come to Alexandria BPAC meetings which are the second Monday of each month from 7-9 p.m. at the Bradlee Safeway.

[Judd]

@bkingva 182180 wrote:

I would love to come — I just recently moved to the city from Arlington but was interested in learning more about the lay of the land here, including who does what. I did notice that BPAC’s website has more updates about what T&ES is doing than T&ES’ website does.

I’m an Arlingtonian, but still a member of BPAC. It’s a great group of people. I enjoy volunteering at the bike rodeos we hold. I’ve learned something new at every meeting. City T&ES and police staff provide a brief at every meeting and we have a great collaborative relationship.

Hope to see you at the next meeting.

[bkingva]

Finally, the city has updated its page on the CaBi expansion for the first time since very early this year. Unfortunately, the newly updated page confirms that no expansion will take place until 2019, and it adds a cryptic note that “The City is currently working to secure grant funding to purchase these stations.”

I’m truly perplexed, because as noted above city officials told the Washington Post over a year ago that this expansion would take place in the spring of 2018, and that the money existed for these 11 additional stations and more.

And, of course, if it really takes up to 2 years to install additional stations *after* the city has approved them, that really bodes ill for additional expansions in part of the city that remain woefully underserved.

[Yule]

Re Alexandria’s sluggish expansion.

Someone involved must think they are doing a service to the city by saving money. I say they are only hurting themselves.

CaBi is a really fantastic resource; it, combined with bicycle infrastructure, is as good a use of public money as I can imagine (speaking as regular and loyal user). I look back to when I decided to join, a few years ago: Why did I do it? I had never considered joining until a station was installed near where I lived. That was it. “Build it, and they will come.” If I am at all typical in this way, the relatively poor coverage in Alexandria is certainly cutting off thousands of potential CaBi people down there.

For this reason I believe that the best way to get more core/regular users is to put more stations near where more people live. (This may sound obvious but it ought to be enunciated; there is, anyway, a camp that would propose stations only ever go in ‘central business districts.) Few are willing to walk 15 minutes to get to/from a CaBi station.

Alexandria and Arlington both have traffic problems, and potential core CaBi users who live outside the CaBi coverage zone are now either driving or Uber/Lyfting. A wider coverage area in both Alexandria and Arlington will get a lot of those trips on bicycle.

Thank you, Bkingva, for raising this issue re West Alexandria.

[Judd]

@Yule 183398 wrote:

Someone involved must think they are doing a service to the city by saving money. I say they are only hurting themselves.

This is false and unfair to the staff involved in CaBi expansion all of whom are progressive transportation planners and dedicated public servants. Of the city folks that I’ve interacted with in three different jurisdictions, the staff in Alexandria is by far the best.

@Yule 183398 wrote:

For this reason I believe that the best way to get more core/regular users is to put more stations near where more people live. (This may sound obvious but it ought to be enunciated; there is, anyway, a camp that would propose stations only ever go in ‘central business districts.) Few are willing to walk 15 minutes to get to/from a CaBi station.

The Ped and Bike Master Plan has a rough map of planned expansions for CaBi in Alexandria. That map is is on page 56 and future expansion is planned for the transportation corridors to West Alexandria. Site selection involves public input and also involves review by the Traffic & Parking Board. The Ped and Bike Master plan can be viewed here: https://www.alexandriava.gov/uploadedFiles/tes/info/2016-06-27_Ped%20and%20Bike%20Master%20Plan%20WEB2.pdf

The non-technical criteria used for site selection in Alexandria are:
Location Selection for Bikeshare Stations
Online Interactive Crowdsourcing Map
Developer contributions
Community requests and comments (CallClickConnect, Emails, Community meetings)

Proximity to:
Metrorail Stations
Mix-use activity centers
Existing and potential bicycle activity
Proximity to other bikeshare stations
Transportation Master Plan (next five years of stations)

[Yule]

@Judd 183405 wrote:

This is false and unfair to the staff involved in CaBi expansion all of whom are progressive transportation planners and dedicated public servants. Of the city folks that I’ve interacted with in three different jurisdictions, the staff in Alexandria is by far the best.

That is good to know. My comment could have been worded better, was not meant to accuse anyone of anything specific. The problem, as identified by the OP here, is sluggishness. What is the source of the sluggishness? If it is not a funding issue, what is it?

It is certainly not something unique to Alexandria, either. It took years to get the Gravelly Point station (up and running as of today) despite Gravelly Point being so obvious a first-rate desirable spot. Meanwhile, e-scooters dive in and are all over the place within a year (these being of questionable long-term value to me, but that’s another issue altogether).

[bkingva]

@Judd 183405 wrote:

The non-technical criteria used for site selection in Alexandria are:
Location Selection for Bikeshare Stations
Online Interactive Crowdsourcing Map
Developer contributions
Community requests and comments (CallClickConnect, Emails, Community meetings)

Proximity to:
Metrorail Stations
Mix-use activity centers
Existing and potential bicycle activity
Proximity to other bikeshare stations
Transportation Master Plan (next five years of stations)

I certainly wasn’t accusing city staff of anything nefarious, but the 11 sites approved in 2017 have presumably met all of the above criteria and still have not been installed. During my most recent conversation with staff, they could not even guarantee that any of the stations will be operating by the time the four-month Metrorail shutdown begins in May, which is a time when city residents will be in desperate need of transportation alternatives.

Arlington seems to install an equivalent number of CaBi stations every few months, so it’s mystifying that Alexandria is so much slower at this. Is Virginia Tech’s new campus really going into an area with no Bikeshare service?

I trust that the city employees working for Complete Streets believe in their program and are committed to its success. So where is the holdup originating?

[KWL]

@bkingva 183470 wrote:

…Is Virginia Tech’s new campus really going into an area with no Bikeshare service? …

There is a CaBi station two blocks from the VT Innovation Campus.

[bkingva]

Sure, on the other side of U.S. 1. And that’s the only station even remotely near that site (or the adjoining neighborhoods) without a good hike to the west, south or north.

Certainly, we will probably see more options in the area when the $1 billion campus is in place. But it’s hard to talk about further expansion until the already-approved expansion is carried out, which is why it would be nice to know what is causing the delay. (And if city staff needs the public’s support, that would be good to know too.)

[CaseyKane50]

@bkingva 183510 wrote:

But it’s hard to talk about further expansion until the already-approved expansion is carried out, which is why it would be nice to know what is causing the delay. (And if city staff needs the public’s support, that would be good to know too.)

At Monday’s BPAC meeting, City staff provided an update on the 2017 expansion delay. Negotiations over a new contract are nearly complete. While staff would not go into details, the negotiations involve Motivate, Alexandria and VDOT. Most of the money the City uses for funding the purchase of the bikes and stations is Federal money. The disbursement of this money is controlled by VDOT. Once the negotiations are complete, the purchasing process can get started.

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