CommuterPageBlog

Summer Time SmartTrip® Updates and Changes

Metro is implementing several changes and updates to the SmartTrip® card this summer. Some are good and some are

not so good. Being a regular Metro rider who enjoys riding ; I’ll only focus on the good changes/improvements.

 

SmartTrip® card holders can now view their account information online anytime they wish. It’s an easy and simple process, a few clicks and you see your account information. Once I created my account, I was amazed to see how quickly I received my confirmation email. Way to go Metro!

 

Starting August 29, the cost to purchase a SmartTrip® card will be reduced to 50%. Which means the new cost will only be $2.50. Additionally there shall be a 25 cents discount per trip for customers who use a SmartTrip® card instead of a paper fare card. That’s a great savings! More details: http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/news/PressReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=4569

Lastly, SmartTrip® now has a mobile feature too. SmartTrip® card holders can now view their account information on their mobile phones.

Metro is making travel, commuting and tracking easy and simple. Go Metro!!! Go SmartTrip®!!!

 

Pinky Advani is the ATP Manager, Business Development at Arlington Transportation Partners, and gets to work with Metrorail.

Regional Slugging News Attracts VA Congressman's Attention

It sounds as though sluggers and their drivers in the region are getting favorable attention. US Representative Gerald E Connoly (VA-D) wrote a letter to the DC police asking them to leave slugs and their drivers alone in a response to tickets that were handed out last month. You can read more about the situation on Dr. Gridlock's column. 

Slugging is another option to driving alone that we promote at Arlington Transportation Partners. At first people are a little leery of the practice, "Get in a stranger's car to get to work?" It seems to go against everything you may have learned growing up. But it works well in this region and has become a true alternative that allows people to save time on getting to work by utilizing the HOV lanes. 

Although many of the slug lines have been active for many years, there are new locations forming periodically. Right outside my back office door is a hub of Rosslyn destination slugs. If you haven't seen the process in action, it is quite interesting. Find a morning or afternoon slug line near you and check it out!

Wendy Duren is the ATP Program Manager at Arlington Transportation Partners and gets to work with Metrorail daily when she isn't dabbling in bike commuting.

The Carfree Fab Five of Arlington

My husband calls us the Fab Five. I call us a travelling circus. We’re a carfree family of five and we just moved to Arlington from Portland.

Four out of five of us are girls. All are carfree.

Yes, you read that right. We moved here from Portland, Oregon with the steadfast intention to go by bike. We’ve been here for a month and I figure it’s time to start sharing what we’re learning as we continue on this journey.

First, let me explain why we’ve made the choice to be carfree. For me, it’s simple: my heart says that of all the things I can do as a mama to make a difference in the world, this is one of the easier choices. I have three daughters and a deep seated sense of raising them to be responsible citizens of the planet. I also have a sort of fuzzy understanding of what that means both spiritually and ecologically speaking, and an even fuzzier notion of what life skills I can teach my kids to help them help me save the world (I never outgrew the childish idea that it really is up to me to save the world).

For my husband, it’s not so simple because he’s a mechanic who has enjoyed a particularly racy love affair with air-cooled VW engines and old Honda motorcycle engines. Believe me, carfree is hard for him but mostly because it means he’s engine free. But he also loves to work on the simplest and most beautiful machine of all: the bicycle. Score one for compromise.

As for those girls we’re raising, well, two out of three recommend living a ‘normal’ life like their friends. They’re 7 and 11, so developmentally speaking and from a socialization point of view, that’s about accurate. Any choice I make for them isn't going to seem 'normal' or cool or at all interesting. However, the baby has developed a healthy appreciation for the bike. Her first word, “baba”, was spoken while pointing at my helmet and doing the happy dance. “Baba” apparently means “bike”. Baby likes the bike. Big sisters endure the bike. We make it work.

None of this is new to our family, though. We exported this family paradigm from Portland. But living carfree in Arlington is new. We arrived one month ago with active transportation stars in our eyes after I took a job with Revolution Cycles to do bike events and advocacy. We quickly settled into our tiny apartment and our new lives in this strange land. I had expected to simply learn a new map, new roads, new names of cool places and then we’d be on our way. Well, sort of.

Groceries
Okay, so grocery shopping as a carfree family in Ptown had the same challenge of bike, trailer, kids, racing home to keep cold stuff cold, avoiding bumps to keep glass beer bottles from breaking, so on and so forth. That hasn’t changed. But hello! Have any grocery stores around here ever heard of bike racks?! I mean, no offense but, no, the railing that goes along the ADA ramp doesn’t really count because the ADA ramp is the ADA ramp and my bike and big fat trailer aren’t supposed to be parked there. And while I love the groovy metal bollards out front to keep the carts from escaping and banging into cars, my u-lock doesn’t quite fit around them and my bike isn’t supposed to be parked there, either. I have found one lone grocery with one lone rack, and thank you so much for the one lone rack but it’s located about 6 inches from the curb, and it’s really scary to be 6 inches from the curb on a high traffic street. And when one bike is already there, it’s somewhere on the scale of dangerous to downright impossible for bike number two with the trailer. We're a carfree family with a lot of people and gear, not a single person with a couple of panniers.

A bike and trailer large enough to haul a kid and week's worth of groceries requires excellent parking.

Now I mean absolutely no disrespect and it's definitely not about special treatment. It's good business. Anyone willing to improve their bike parking will definitely score my hard-earned dollars for my family of five who gets around by using their own power. Collectively we require a lot of fuel, and therefore we spend a lot of grocery dollars. And here’s the thing: I’m making lots of friends just like me and converting others as quickly as I can. So grocery stores, phone moi. Let’s chat about a win-win situation.

My Baby on the Bike
No, it’s actually not dangerous for my baby to be on a bike unless you and I make it so. She thoroughly enjoys herself, she is strong enough to hold herself up, vocal enough to voice any real complaint and precious enough to me that I want to keep her safe above all else. But I really need your help with this. I’ve made a personal choice to live my life a certain way, the same  way that you have made your choices. I’m very well-educated and actually, very data driven (don’t get me started), and so I hope you can trust me when I say I rely on you to do your part (I'm committed to doing my part) in keeping us all safe. Again, it’s a win-win situation so let’s work as team and aim toward positive solutions that benefit us all. Including my darling Clementine.

Clementine used to travel by cargo bike (seen here), now she's in a BoBike seat on my handlebars so I can use my rack for carrying stuff. Plus, the center of gravity is better for me that way.

Specifically, please, on the trail, announce your pass as you pass. Please, on the road, stop looking directly at me for extended periods whether out of disdain or simple curiosity because I know from training and years of being an athlete that the thing you’re looking right at is the thing you’re aiming for, whether you mean to or not. And most of all, please pay attention to what you’re doing and just be nice as we pass each other. If you want to to talk to me about your concerns, feel free to get in touch with me and we can share a beer and exchange ideas. But right now, I’m busy going where I need to go and taking care of my family, just like you.

The Heat
Oh. My. Gosh. I swore up and down to my born-and-bred west coast husband that the heat and humidity really aren’t that bad except for a couple weeks out of the year. I have been proven a liar on this front. I am humiliated and defeated and while I know there is nothing anyone here can do about it, it’s a bummer.

As for my takeaway, it’s a simple lesson. I bike well over 100 miles a week throughout the city just for transportation. And while I’m not a straight up vehicular cyclist, I do spend quite a lot of time on the roads, as traffic, dancing with cars, so to speak and experiencing the street level heat during all hours of the day. If there’s one thing I’ve learned above all else as a carfree mama new to this area in the summer of 2010: hydrate. My old left coast ways interpreted that as coffee until about 4pm (holla Stumptown Holler Mountain!), then beer at night. Aah. Portland hydration. I miss it. But here hydration means water. All. The. Time. Or you will die a slow, steamy death. Got it. I am now a hydration goddess. Thank you for teaching me this because I’ve been a bad bad girl when it comes to hydration and this is one lesson I really needed to learn.

I've learned staying hydrated is key.

As a carfree mama of three, our family is constantly faced with problems, solving what we can and enduring those issues that we can’t unravel. It’s no different, really, than anyone else’s family life and I’m not at all here to say that this is an easy way to live no matter what coast you’re on, but it’s manageable. And most of the time it’s fun. I mean, fireflies as far as the eye can see on the trail at night that light up my commute like the 4th of July fireworks? That’s unparalleled. Add to that the camaradie of the countless folks I’ve met who are making similar choices to increase the amount of active transportation in their lives, and the others who are simply on board with the concept, and I have to say I’m smitten with this place. You'll hear more from me as I continue to get settled because this is my home and I’m proud to be the ringleader of the Carfree Fab Five in Arlington. 

Angela Koch

Revolution Cycles, Events and Advocacy Coordinator

angela@revolutioncycles.com

2 More Bike Movies This Summer!

The Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse is again catering to Arlington's bicycling community with two cycling themed movies:

If you missed it the first time Chasing Legends, which follows the Colmbia-HTC team at the 2009 Tour de France, will be showing on July 29th.

Ride The Divide, which follows racers on the world’s toughest mountain bike race as it traverses over 2700 miles on the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains is showing on August 5th.

Purchase tickets to both these screenings at the Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse website.
 

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.

Blue (or is it Green?) Line Reroute - 30 Months Later

Dr. Gridlock in the Washington Post, discussed today the potential rerouting of some metro trains across the Yellow Line bridge over the Potomac rather than through the Rosslyn tunnel.  Old news.  Virtually the same article was written by Lena Sun in February 2008.  Same question: should they make a new color?  Yes, of course, as I blogged here over two years ago .  (For more on how we name routes, check out my blog post on that here.)

There appears to be a pattern.  The same problems just keep plaguing Metro.  I've been reading about the escalator problems (and experiencing them personally) for more than a decade--along with this passenger who writes in today's post. Robert Thompson (Dr. Gridlock) replied thus:

"The current generation at the transit authority includes some pretty smart people. The consequences of the escalator design have been widely known and discussed since the 1990s. Is it not reasonable to expect that these smart people would be well on their way to solving the problems they inherited? Instead, the transit authority remains far better at articulating the problems than at solving them."

Likewise with the invisible tunnel.  Just do it.

If the rerouting of the trains across the Potomac instead of under it is a good idea, then quit talking about it and do it.  Yes, deciding what to call it is an issue, but surely that is not what is keeping it from being implemented.  

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Steve Offutt of Arlington also blogs at Greater Greater Washington

First Photos of Capital Bikeshare

The first photos of Capital Bikeshare are in! The prototype bikes look great. Branded to match the D.C. Circulator bus, Capital Bikeshare bikes are red with the Capital Bikeshare logo in yellow on the downtube.


Similar to other bikes in the Bixi Community, your bikes have flashing front and rear LED lights, reflective sidewall tires, adjustable seat post with marked numbers (to help you remember your seat height), and a carrier with bungee cord on the front.

The rear fenders are to be available for a service sponsor of Arlington's 110-bike/14-station portion of Capital Bikeshare, similar to Nice Ride Minnesota's sponsorship by BlueCross BlueShield of Minnesota (below). (Prospective sponsors can email me for sponsorship info.)


The launch of Capital Bikeshare is right around the corner in September. The actual launch date is still to be determined. Capital Bikeshare will change Arlington and D.C. forever.

by Paul DeMaio of MetroBike, LLC, a bike-sharing adviser for Arlington County Commuter Services

Cross-posted at The Bike-sharing Blog.

Skeptics Recap Video

Here's the recap video for the Car-Free Diet Skeptics Challenge. Enjoy.

London's Proposed Cycle Superhighways

Imagine a direct route through the city for bicycling that is protected from other modes of traffic. The route is painted blue, has excellent directional signage, and gets you to where you're going quickly and safely. London is going through a transformation with the creation of its Cycle Superhighways which repurposes street space from motor vehicle to bicycle in order to encourage more Londoners to cycle.Through its Cycle Superhighways and Barclays Cycle Hire, London hopes to transform itself into a bicycling capital.

Can Arlington and D.C. do the same with its greater commitment to better bike facilities and Capital Bikeshare?

by Paul DeMaio of MetroBike, LLC, a bike-sharing consulting company, for Arlington County Commuter Services

Capital Bikeshare is on Facebook!

 Capital Bikeshare now has a Facebook fan page that you can check out here. Click on the "Enter to Win" tab and "Like" the page for a chance to win a free 30-day membership! The fan page will be used to keep everyone up to date on the official website launch, opportunities to sign up, and the program launch!

 

In other news, Capital Bikeshare received a mention on CNN World News online.  Check out Slide 6 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.

Army Navy Country Club Expresses Support for Bike Connection in South Arlington

Today's Washington Post printed a letter from Edward A. Urben, the General Manager and CEO of the Army Navy Country Club in South Arlington.  This letter shows support for the County's request to obtain an easement that will allow bike/ped access from Arlington View neighborhood, under I-395, to Pentagon City.  This is a long-sought connection.  Please also see this related post from a few weeks ago, urging cyclists and others to support this connection.

View Hoffman Boston I-395 bike/ped connector in a larger map

Having this letter published in the Post is a huge step toward bringing this issue to fruition.  Here is the complete text of the letter, which was in response to an article which appeared in the Post on July 13.  I have bolded the key statement.

The July 13 Metro article "Plans for bike path at Army Navy club lead to uproar, suit" highlighted sensationalist quotes from a few members of the Army Navy Country Club. I want to provide a fuller perspective.

The Army Navy Country Club (ANCC) is a nonprofit organization that, at a reasonable cost, provides recreational facilities for a cross-section of the community, including active-duty and retired military personnel, schoolteachers and local businesspeople. The Arlington County club invests about $19 million in the community annually, including $10 million for more than 500 jobs and more than $1 million in property taxes. The ANCC prides itself on being a responsible member of the community and hosts many annual events for the public.

In the post-Sept. 11, 2001 environment, the club's Board of Governors believed that granting an easement for emergency access, which could also be used as a bike path on a sliver of property that is removed from other ANCC facilities, was a public benefit that made sense. The 40-member board carefully considered its authority to make decisions in the best interests of its membership.

Edward A. Urben, Arlington

The writer is general manager and chief operating officer of the Army Navy Country Club.