Photo by Glyn Lowe Photos
As bike infrastructure in D.C. rapidly expands, so are the number of cyclists (much to Courtland Milloy’s frustration). Which means Capital Bikeshare—the city’s bicycle sharing system—is too.
According to the District Department of Transportation, Capital Bikeshare “experienced a record-breaking year of ridership, with over 1 million rides taken since June 1.” In fact, people are using Capital Bikeshare so much, they’re having trouble keeping enough bikes available.
On top of recently installed stations at 24th Street and New Hampshire Avenue NW, 34th Street and Water Street NW, and in front of the Martin Luther King Jr. Library, as well as numerous in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs, DDOT announced plans to install ten more Capital Bikeshare stations by the end of the year to keep up with rapidly growing demands. Here are a dozen possible sites DDOT is eyeing for new station locations:
- 1st Street and K Street NE
- 5th Street and Florida Avenue NE
- Division Avenue and Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue NE
- 11th Street and S Street NW
- 14th Street and Irving Street NW
- 15th Street and L Street NW
- 17th Street and G Street NW
- 18th Street and R Street NW
- 19th Street and G Street NW
- Connecticut Avenue and McKinley Street NW
- Georgia Avenue and Missouri Avenue NW
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue (at St. Elizabeths Campus)
There’s also plans to add new docks to existing stations—mostly downtown—where demand is high for bike rentals during rush hour. Despite the bankruptcy of the company that makes Bikeshare equipment, and the discontinued partnership with two other companies that work on the hardware and software components of the system, Bikeshare says they’re gearing up to meet the ever-growing demands of riders. “We like to view these setbacks as small bumps in bringing forth a mode of transportation that is just coming into its own,” DDOT writes in a statement.
Oh and be forwarned, Courtland, DDOT says they’re hoping to announce 40 new Bikeshare stations next spring.
