Chris Balish: How to Live Well Without Owning a Car: Save Money, Breathe Easier, and Get More Mileage Out of Life
We love this book! Chris Balish provides readers with practical, every-day tips on how to go car-lite or even car-free. We wish we'd written this book ourselves, but it somehow rings much more true coming from this self-described "mainstream" guy. NOW AVAILABLE in a Special Arlington, VA Edition! (*****)
Mark Ovenden: Transit Maps of the World
If you like maps and you're a transit fan then you'll love this new collection of transit system maps from around the world. Includes rare and historic maps, diagrams and photographs. Beautiful and fun. (***)
Jeff Mapes: Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists Are Changing American Cities
Chock full of useful information about how agencies and citizens across the world are re-engineering their infrastructure and re-educating the public to make their cities more bike friendly for commutes and all trips. Mr. Mapes shows when this happens it is good for economic development, the environment and quality of life. A must read for anyone who wants their own region to become more bike friendly and thus prosper in this new age. (*****)
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(Sample BIXI bike, like those used in Montreal)
Now that the regional bike-sharing program has been announced, this is a reminder to vote on your favorite name for the program, or even submit your own! Voting is open through June 4th, 2010.
BikeArlington is an initiative of Arlington County, Virginia to encourage and enable more people to go by bike more often. To stay up to date on biking in Arlington, follow BikeArlington on Twitter.
(click on the picture to view the full size invitation)
If so, please pass this invitation on to your business representatives (Human Resources Manager, Property Manager, or a Facilities Manager), and give them the opportunity to learn how they can benefit from making it easy for employees and residents to bike to work and receive national recognition for doing so.
When: June 9, 2 – 4 pm
Where: Arlington Transportation Partners (near the Rosslyn Metro Station) 1501 Wilson Blvd, Suite 1100, Arlington, VA 22209
RSVP: Please respond to info@bikearlington.com by Friday, June 4
The League of American Bicyclists' Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB) program nationally recognizes employer efforts to encourage a more bicycle-friendly atmosphere for employees and guests, such as providing secure bike parking or shower facilities. A BFB practices social responsibility by integrating bicycling into the business culture and giving employees the opportunity to be active stewards of their personal and environmental health through cycling.
At the workshop, Arlington Transportation Partners, BikeArlington, goDCgo, and the League of American Bicyclists will provide technical assistance and information to help companies, residential properties, and organizations become more bike friendly, and apply for recognition in the BFB program. Take a quick quiz to see if your company should apply.
BikeArlington is an initiative of Arlington County, Virginia to encourage and enable more people to go by bike more often. To stay up to date on biking in Arlington, follow BikeArlington on Twitter.
The EPA Bike room in the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC on Bike to Work Day, May 21, 2010. From the BikeArlington forum. Thanks, Dirt!.
Joe Chapline is Web Manager for Arlington County Commuter Services
Today at the Bike to Work Day pit stop in Rosslyn, Arlington County Board Chair, Jay Fisette, announced the winner of Arlington's Car-Free Diet Skeptics Challenge. Drum roll please. And the winner is...
TODD
It was a very close contest as both Todd and Ross did an outstanding job of going car free and sharing their experiences online. Here are a few statistics from their 30 days:
Todd
-lost 10 pounds
-saved $242
-reduced his CO2 emissions by approximately 437 lbs
-cut his bike commute time by 8 minutes
Ross
-saved $51
-burned 6,400 calories by bike commuting
-reduced his CO2 emissions by approximately 408 lbs
-sold his car
Congratulations to both of our Skeptics, Todd and Ross, who are now Car-Free Diet Converts. They will continue to blog about life after the Challenge and how their Car-Free Diet is going. Want to start your own Car-Free Diet? Visit carfreediet.com and use the calculator to figure out how much money you'll save, CO2 emissions you'll reduce and calories you'll burn.
Bobbi Greenberg is the Marketing Director for Arlington County Commuter Services, a bureau within the Department of Environmental Services.
Lining up to cross Lynn Street.
Cyclists cross Lee Highway into Gateway Park.
The festivities!
The brand new regional bike-sharing program was announced. 1100 bikes are coming to VA and DC this fall!
Check out the rest of the Bike to Work Day Rosslyn pit stop photos HERE.
BikeArlington is an initiative of Arlington County, Virginia to encourage and enable more people to go by bike more often. To stay up to date on biking in Arlington, follow BikeArlington on Twitter.
DC and Arlington just became a little more European with today's joint announcement of the launch of a regional bike-share system (District of Columbia and Arlington Launch Regional Bike Sharing Program, May 21, 2010; DC and Arlington Press Release). Just like Vilib' in Paris, Bicing in Barcelona, Roman'nBike in Rome or any number of more than 160 systems in Europeand around the world. This expanded, regional system follows the success of SmartBikeDC, launched in 2008. The new system will launch later this year with roughly 1,100 bikes at 114 stations; it will be largest of its kind in the U.S. >Read a fact sheet.
This is a big deal for people that live, work and play in the urban core as there will now be one more way to get around without a car. And its a big deal because of the regional cooperation exhibited by the two jurisdictions in putting together this joint project and because other jurisdictions throughout the region have the ability to join the system too.
The new system will be similar to the BIXI system, produced by Montreal-based Public Bike System Company (PBSC). The BIXI system has been running in Montreal since 2009 and will be arriving soon in Minneapolis, London, and Melbourne, Australia. BIXI bike sharing stations are solar powered and use wireless technology to allow for easy installation and adjustments. It may look different, but the BIXI bicycle has many of the same features as the Smartbike: 3-speed, internal hub gears, fenders, chain guard, lights, fenders, chain guards, lights, and a front rack. Annual, monthly, and daily memberships will be available for area residents and visitors.
One important note for the Arlington portion of the service is the participation of the Crystal City BID. They chipped in a substantial amount of money to make this happen and should be congratulated for their progressive thinking. BID CEO Angie Fox and Operations Vice President Rob Mandle are pictured here (top) in Montreal checking out the Bixi bikes that will soon be here. Hats off to Arlington County Board Chair Jay Fisette and County Board Member Chris Zimmerman and DDOT Director Gabe Klein for insisting that local staff figure out a way to do a regional system. We did. And a shout out to our wonderful friends at DDOT, especially Jim Sebastian and Chris Holben and our staff at Arlington County Transportation (who are too numerous to mention) for making this happen.
The other fun news is that we're seeking public input on the name of the new system. Go here on the goDCgo web site and tell us what you think.
And here's a link to a good story on the new service from the good folks over at Greater Greater Washington (Arlington, DC announce 1,1100-bike regional bike sharing; by Dave Alpert, May 21, 2010), the Washington Post (Expanded Bike-sharing program to link D.C., Arlington County; by Christy Goodman, May 21, 2010) and a Crystal City BID Press Release (Crystal City Keeps Spinning With New Bike Sharing Program - District of Columbia and Arlington Launch Largest System in the U.S., by Angela Fox, May 21, 2010).
This is a great day for biking and the region!
Chris Hamilton is the Commuter Services Transportation Bureau Chief for Arlington County in the Department of Environmental Services, manager of CommuterPageBlog and a Metro/biking commuter from Rosemont in Alexandria.
How do we know that Arlington County, VA, is a great place to live, work and play? Based on a 2009 survey of Arlington residents, 92% of residents think the quality of life in Arlington is "excellent" or "high." Such off-the-charts results should convince even the harshest of critics that this is a very special place indeed.
What helps make Arlington so special is the multimodal transportation network that supports the County's Smart Growth vision. Although the D.C. metro area usually gets top-billing among the country's most gridlocked cities, 75% of Arlington residents are "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with the transportation system in Arlington. This is because, rather than battling the traffic in their cars, Arlington residents have figured out other ways to get around.
Arlington County Commuter Services programs are geared towards familiarizing Arlington residents with the alternative transportation options available to them, i.e. Metrorail, buses, carpools, bicycles, and walking. The 2009 resident survey established that 42% of residents' commutes occur by these alternate modes. Predictably, residents using alternative transportation for their commute are more satisfied with the transportation system than residents who drive alone to work.
The study also found that 95% of residents who gave "excellent or "high" ratings for quality of life also said they were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with the transportation system. This shows that the quality of the transportation system in Arlington has a major impact on the overall quality of life of residents.
The County continues to enhance the infrastructure and convenience of the transportation network to serve Arlingtonians better. When the County Board Chairman promotes the 2010 Bicycle and Pedestrian Access and Safety Program or the County updates the Master Transportation Plan, when the County Board supports the Columbia Pike Streetcar project or BikeArlington supports Bike to Work Day, they are truly helping to make Arlington a better place.
Sonali Soneji, AICP, is the Research Manager with Arlington Transportation Partners.
Just a reminder: this Friday, May 21, 2010, is National Bike to Work Day.
Do you know someone who is thinking about giving bike commuting a try for the first time? Please let new riders know about Bike to Work Day as this is the perfect opportunity for them to give it a spin!
BikeArlington is an initiative of Arlington County, Virginia to encourage and enable more people to go by bike more often. To stay up to date on biking in Arlington, follow BikeArlington on Twitter.
This is the last week of the 30-day challenge for the Car-Free
Diet Skeptics – Ross
and Todd.
Both skeptics have done a great job at going car free and recording
their experiences via blogs, Facebook,
Twitter, YouTube, and even Foursquare. Also, check out their new mid-way progress videos. Once they learned how to
go car free, whether by bus, Metrorail, bike or walking, I think they
found it easier than expected. It takes a little extra planning and in
some cases, time, but once they figured out how to get around without a
car, they did fine and even enjoyed their bike commutes. This is a close
challenge as both Ross and Todd have embraced a car-free lifestyle.
Follow along the last few days to see who stays on the diet and becomes
the winner. I think both will go from Car-Free Diet Skeptics to Car-Free
Diet Supporters.
Bobbi Greenberg is the Marketing Director for Arlington County
Commuter Services, a bureau within the Department of Environmental
Services.
Friday, May 21, 2010 is National Bike to Work Day. Are you a long time bike commuter, just starting out with your riding, or even just thinking about riding for your first time? You can be one of more than 8,500 cyclists expected to ride to work in a grand celebration of bicycling as a clean, fun and healthy way to get to work!
It's free to register and all participants will receive a t-shirt and can take part in fun demos and raffles while enjoying free food and music. You can register at WABA's website.
There will be 35 pit stops throughout the region, and three here in Arlington (Rosslyn, Ballston and Crystal City--open from 7am to 9am). Click here to find your nearest regional pit stop.
See the Local and Regional Bike to Work Day promotional posters here.
BikeDC: The Washington and Arlington Community Bike Ride kicks off as a Spring event this year just a few days after Bike to Work Day. Sunday, May 23, 2010 will be your opportunity to experience the beauty and grandeur of our nation's capital from the best possible vantage point: the seat of your bicycle pedaling along car-free streets.
With a number of different routes varying in length and difficulty this ride will be fun for the entire family. Find out more about the schedule of events and register at BikeDC.net.
BikeArlington is an initiative of Arlington County, Virginia to encourage and enable more people to go by bike more often. To stay up to date on biking in Arlington, follow BikeArlington on Twitter.
