Results tagged “bicycles”

Law-breaking, wasting public funds and an elected official who's increasingly unpopular -- the story had everything you would want in an exposé. So when WTOP's Mark Segraves reported Monday that D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty used a police escort and clogged up area roads on his daily bike ride, everyone jumped on it. Including us.

    

The District Department of Transportation is busy installing a new contraflow, south-bound bicycle lane on 15th Street NW, which will extend from U Street NW to Massachusetts Avenue NW. Initial work began on Monday, and DCist spotted the work crew out just above P Street this afternoon as they put down the directional bike lane symbols.

       

City officials gathered this morning to open the new Union Station Bike Transit Center, the first secure bicycle parking facility of its kind on the East Coast.

New trends and fads follow a predictable path in the Washington area. First there are pioneers, next come early adopters, then the general public and eventually, some time after that, the Washington Post. Once the Post gets around to publishing an article on the new trend or fad, you can bet that it's only a matter of months before it's completely over.

Late last September, local cycling enthusiasts were treated to a first for the District -- a professional bike race in downtown Washington. The ING Direct Capital Criterium saw domestic and international pros line up to tackle a technical eight-turn course with a dramatic finish on Pennsylvania Avenue, an event so successful that it was added to the 34-race National Racing Calender for 2009. In late July, though, local promoter D.C. Velo announced that due to the recession, main sponsor ING was forced to pull their support for the race, leaving organizers without the financial backing to run the race until 2010. (Philadelphia almost lost their marquee pro cycling event earlier this summer, too, but last-minute appeals to sponsors and fans allowed the event to happen.) As a local competitive cyclist and huge fan of the sport, consider me officially bummed out. It was a treat to see local racers line up against guys just coming off of the Tour de France, and the District's backdrop served as a fitting place for such a dramatic showing of cycling talent. Here's to hoping for 2010.

The good news: Metro says it is busy installing 300 additional bike racks at stations across the system in time for Friday's Bike to Work Day, adding up to a 20 percent increase in bicycle storage options for commuters. The bad news: The Examiner is reporting that the opening of the long awaited Bike Transit Station at Union Station has been delayed once again, this time until July. “It’s a delay related to the construction,” District Department of Transportation spokesman John Lisle told the newspaper.

Bicyclist Jessie Posilkin sent an email to WABA this morning (and was kind enough to cc DCist) about another bicycle sting operation that looks like it's been set up in Logan Circle today. Posilkin reports that she was given a $25 ticket for going the wrong way on Vermont Ave. into the circle, much the same as the folks who were ticketed for going the wrong way on New Hampshire Ave. toward U Street back in July (and other times since, for that matter). While Posilkin admits breaking the law, she also notes that "there is no good way to enter Logan coming from Vermont- all routes seem inefficient (and the traffic lights at the different one way stops are confusing)." Cyclists heading in to the Logan area today, consider yourselves warned.

Here's a question: if you have access to a car, have you ever driven it to the DCUSA complex? Or how about your local supermarket?

As anyone who's ever owned a bike in this city is probably all-too-painfully aware, they're quite prone to being stolen. It's a tale as old as time, but that doesn't make coming out of a coffee shop to find your bike missing any less frustrating, and with thousands of new students headed to the area this week, we thought it was time for a little reminder about bike registration. Though it's no longer required in D.C., it can still help you out in the unfortunate event that some despicable jerk stole your eco-friendly mode of transport. And, did you know that you can even register your bike after it's stolen? All you need is the serial number. That McGruff, he's always looking out for your best interest. And while we're on the topic of bike thieves, I wonder if D.C. has any criminal masterminds like the one recently busted in Toronto with over 3,000 bikes. Although, we doubt MPD would have enough spare time on their hands to put together a bicycle thief sting. We still don't have any suggestions for how to remedy bike-part theft, though.

Earlier in the week, we reported that bike-sharing operation SmartBike DC was finally operating, but with a few sites still under construction — Judiciary Square, Metro Center, and McPherson Square. Today we walked by the Judiciary Square rack on 4th Street NW between D and E, and it's ready, bikes and all. In case you wanted to ride from, say, the Albert Pike statue to somewhere. Or, less fun, you have to go to court.

After a bit of a wait, District residents can finally sign up for SmartBike DC memberships online. The city's pilot bicycle sharing program is already being used by a small number of beta testers, and $40 annual subscriptions are now for sale, according to DDOT's Manager for Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Transportation Demand Management Programs, Jim Sebastian.

The intersection of U Street, 16th Street and New Hampshire Ave. in Northwest has long been a perilous spot for pedestrians and cyclists alike. It's just a weird confluence of two major thoroughfares plus a diagonal avenue that runs one-way, in opposite directions, for one block only on either side. If you've ever tried to cross U Street on foot there, you know just how unpredictable the flow of traffic can be. Last year DDOT was even considering cutting off vehicle access to New Hampshire from the intersection in an effort to make the crosswalks less dangerous.

What's this? A rack full of SmartBike DC's shared bicycles all loaded up in front of the Reeves Center at 14th and U NW? Yes, but don't get excited: this was only for a photo op staged by the District Department of Transportation that we just happened to stumble upon earlier this afternoon (yo DDOT, how's about inviting us next time so we don't have to party crash?). These SmartBikes are going to be carted away and packed up again once they're done.

We just ran into District Department of Transportation's Manager for Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Transportation Demand Management Programs, Jim Sebastian, at the corner of R Street and Rhode Island Ave. NW, on his way to a meeting on one of the new SmartBikes we've been eagerly anticipating. Doesn't Jim look sporty? While he was test driving one of the bikes, which have smaller front wheels than standard bikes, Sebastian told us that the nation's first bicycle sharing program, SmartBike DC, should be fully operational in early June.

Both the Bike Sharing Blog and some of our Flickr contributors have spotted several of the SmartBikeDC racks being erected around town in the last week. The city's first bike sharing company, which we first told you about last year, is expected to be in full gear in May, with a soft launch rumored by the end of this month. The list of planned bike rental locations can be found here. The rack pictured is in front of the Reeves Center at 14th and U Streets NW.

It's a little chilly yet to start dressing like spring is already here, but with this weekend's switch to Daylight Saving Time, it's at least starting to feel like the season is on the verge of being here. And with warmer weather, those of us who are too wimpy to ride our bicycles in the freezing cold (read: me) will once again strap on our helmets and take to the streets. We can't think of a better way to recommit yourself to the biking life than by signing up for Bike to Work Day. Registration for the annual event is now open, via the Washington Area Bicyclist Association web site.