The Bike House is moving to Annie's Ace Hardware

From the Bike House:

After three years inhabiting the alley behind Qualia Coffee, the Bike House has found a new home. Beginning March 10th, you will be able to find the Bike Housemates tirelessly teaching classes and cranking their wrenches at Annie's Ace Hardware, just a few blocks northwest of Qualia at 1240 Upshur Street NW. We will be offering the same open clinics and classes as before - be sure to check out our website for additional information about the services we offer.

Come learn how to fix your bike for free!

Photo: the long-awaited Bikeshare station at Georgia and Upshur is finally a reality

This has been a long time coming. The Georgia/Upshur Bikeshare station (which, if you want to get more precise about it, is actually located at 9th and Upshur) was supposed to be installed during the first rollout back in September of 2010. The installation was pushed back, presumably due to the construction that was going on at the intersection at the time. The station was finally installed on Tuesday.

Montgomery County plans 50 Bikeshare stations near Red Line

From the Gazette: Fifty bikeshare stations planned for stations along the Red Line; Montgomery County officials still seek funding for project

Montgomery County officials and residents discussed Tuesday adding bicycle stations that would connect to the bike network in Washington, D.C., and Arlington, Va.

The county hopes to add 50 stations with 400 bikes along and around Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Metrorail Red Line, focusing on places like Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Silver Spring, Takoma Park, Forest Glen and Wheaton.

Many of the stations proposed by the county Department of Transportation were located at or around Metrorail stations, apartment complexes, parks, hospitals and community centers.

The county is applying for a Maryland Bikeshare Program grant. The grant would fund 80 percent of the costs up to a certain point, Brecher said. The state grant application is due Dec. 15 and Brecher said she expected a response next year, since the grant would go toward fiscal year 2013.

A Capital Bikeshare station with 15 bike slots and eight bikes would cost $48,000 for equipment and installation and $21,000 in annual operating fees. If the county receives the grant, officials will order the stations and bikes and draft a station plan for each location. The county would also have to talk to any private parties who own land on a planned station site and make private agreements. The aim is to install stations in winter 2012, Brecher said.

Here's a list of the proposed station locations:
Silver Spring: Lyttonsville, the Summit Hills apartment complex, the future Silver Spring Library and the Silver Spring Metrorail station.
Wheaton: Westfield Wheaton shopping center, Ana Mendez University and the Wheaton Metrorail station among others.
Bethesda and Chevy Chase: 13 sites including Suburban Hospital, Chevy Chase Lake and the Bethesda and Medical Center Metrorail stations.
Takoma Park: Parks, Montgomery College, the Takoma Park Community Center, Old Town and Takoma Junction.
Forest Glen: Holy Cross Hospital and the Forest Glen Metrorail station among others.

Developer-sponsored Capital Bikeshare station rejected in Takoma

Thanks to the Wash Cycle for pointing out this passage from The Atlantic Cities' piece on developers sponsoring Bikeshare stations:

The builders of a planned apartment complex in D.C.’s Takoma neighborhood also say their offer to sponsor a station was rejected by officials who felt the location was too far off the beaten path.

Since there are only so many apartment complexes in the planning stages in Takoma, I assume this passage refers to the developers of either Ecco Park or the proposed development on Spring Place NW.

I understand why Bikeshare would be hesitant to slap a station in Takoma without building up other nearby sites as well, as Bikeshare needs several stations built relatively close to each other in order to be useable. But I'm sorry to hear that the developers' proposal was dismissed seemingly without considering that Bikeshare will soon be expanding to Montgomery County's Red Line stations. It will be in everyone's best interest for Bikeshare to set up in Takoma, Brightwood, and the rest of Ward 4 in order to provide connections between Montgomery County and the rest of the District. Taking the developers up on their offer seems like it would be good planning for the future.


Update: ANC4B02 Commissioner Sara Green just confirmed that the article is referring to the Spring Place development. She went on to say, "You get to Spring Place by driving down Blair Road (toward the Takoma Metro Station) and making a left on Chestnut just after the light at Piney Branch. Spring Place is the first and only right." If you can follow that, you'll understand that the development is indeed slightly inconvenient to Takoma's main commercial area. I assume the location of that specific development is what turned Bikeshare off, but I've asked them to clarify.

Update 2: Bruce Levin, one of the developers of the Spring Place building, confirms that DDOT is concerned about Spring Place's lack of visibility, at least at this time: "The location is less than ideal as compared to more visible locations at or around the (Metro) station. This could certainly change at a later date. The next and most important step will be to work with DDOT to complete the design of the trail between Spring Place and Cedar, secure funding and complete this section."

New Capital Bikeshare crowdsourcing map allows you to vote for your preferred future station locations

Capital Bikeshare has issued a new crowdsourcing map, which you can access here. I'm happy to say that when I looked at it for the first time, all of the locations that I would have chosen (14th and Colorado, Georgia and Missouri, Georgia and Piney Branch, the Takoma Metro, the Takoma Rec Center, etc) had already been added by other users, which tells me that demand for Bikeshare in Ward 4 is growing. Go to the map and vote for your favorite locations; the more voices Bikeshare hears, the more likely we are to get the stations we need!

Bike House's Jameel Alsalam appointed as Ward 4 representative to Bicycle Advisory Council

CM Bowser has appointed Jameel Alsalam, who you may know as one of the founding members of The Bike House, to the Bicycle Advisory Council as Ward 4's representative (a position that I believe has been vacant for quite some time, so it's great to have it filled, and to have it filled by a Bike Housemate is very fitting).

Jameel says he wants to focus on making bicycling a practical and accessible choice for as many residents of Ward 4 as possible. "A big part of that is making connections between where people live, work and shop. In my personal experience, I would like it if the Upper Georgia Avenue commercial corridor was more bike-accessible."

Since one of the roles of the BAC rep is to act as a bridge between residents and DC government on bicycling-related issues, Jameel asked me to let readers know that he's interested in hearing your thoughts on everything from your favorite bike routes in Ward 4 to roads/intersections that you've found to be dangerous. Feel free to leave notes in the comments section below or email him directly.

The Bicycle Advisory Council meets on the first Wednesday of odd numbered months in room 1117 of One Judiciary Square (441 4th Street, NW) from 6 to 8 pm. (July's meeting will be held on July 13, due to Independence Day). Meetings are open to public.

Sculptures created from recycled bike parts start appearing this week in Old Takoma

Mandala
by Robert Wertz
at 6903 Laurel Avenue


The Amazing Alien Egg
A Phenakistoscope by Alison Baker
at 201 Ethan Allen Avenue at the TPSS Co-op



Wheels in the Sky
by Howard Connelly Design
at B.Y. Morrison Park

Photos: Laura Barclay


Who doesn't love bikes, art, and recycling? Artists from all over the world have been known to use old bike parts as their media, and that spirit is being brought to our area thanks to the Old Takoma Business Association.

Installation of the OTBA's reCYCLE Art of Bike Project began last weekend and will continue throughout the week. The project was "designed to celebrate the art, bicycling and recycling cultures of Takoma", according to the OTBA press release.

Artists were commissioned to build seven outdoor sculptures, using mostly bicycle parts. Some sculptures are kinetic, including The Amazing Alien Egg and Wheels in the Sky, pictured above. They will be displayed throughout Old Takoma (though notably only one of them is located on the DC side; it's at 341 Cedar Street NW) (EDIT: OK, as Laura points out in the comments, the lawn of 6930 Carroll Avenue is just inside the District line [although the building is in Maryland], therefore so is the sculpture that is placed on its lawn) until October 2, when they will be auctioned off to the public at the annual Takoma Park Street Festival. Proceeds will benefit future OTBA public art projects.

Check out more photos and a map. I also understand that the Green Commuter and Takoma Bicycle have reCYCLE t-shirts available for sale.

OTBA will host an official unveiling this Saturday, June 18th at 10:00am at B.Y. Morrison Park (at the intersection of Carroll Avenue and Rt. 410 in Takoma Park). Car parking is available in the public lot next to 201 Ethan Allen Avenue; bike parking is available everywhere.

It's the Official Ward 4 Bike to Work Day convoy

Our Councilmember is going to bike to work tomorrow, and she'd like you to join her.

When: Tomorrow (Bike to Work Day!), 7:00 am
Where: Highlands Café, 4706 14th St. NW
(There's a Capital Bikeshare station right in front of Highlands, so if you want to ride CaBi, it's a very convenient meeting spot.)

More info from a press release:

Bowser to pace the peloton on Bike to Work Day
Washington, D.C. – In support of Bike to Work Day tomorrow, Councilmember Bowser will lead a group of cyclists on a bicycle ride from Ward 4 to Freedom Plaza.

When: Friday, May 20, 2011
Time: 7:00 A.M.
Where: Highlands Café, 4706 14th St NW

For more information, or to join the ride, please contact Brandon Todd at btodd@dccouncil.us, or by phone at 202-664-7594. If the Councilmember’s ride is cancelled due to inclement weather, notice will be posted on Ward 4 listservs by 6:15 A.M.

Takoma Park Farmers Market jumps on the farmers market bike clinic train

Yes, a bike clinic is starting up at the Takoma Park Farmers Market on Sunday, May 22. It's a collective effort between the Mount Rainier Bike Coop, Takoma Bicycle, and The Green Commuter.

Bike clinics are great places for the less mechanically inclined to get some help with their bikes' issues. No word yet on whether this will become a regular fixture at the market, but if it did, that would be fantastic.

Takoma Park Farmers Market
Laurel Avenue (bet. Eastern & Carroll)
Sundays, 10am-2pm