Bicycling

Take CaBi during this weekend's Metro trackwork

by Steve Offutt and David Alpert   •   October 8, 2010 11:51 am

Metro will be shutting down the Orange and Blue Lines from Foggy Bottom to Federal Triangle this weekend. There will be shuttle buses connecting the two and the intermediate stations, but rather than wait for a shuttle, Capital Bikeshare can help bridge the gap.

DDOT just added some new stations yesterday, making Capital Bikeshare a viable alternative to waiting for the shuttle buses. Here are the bikeshare stations closest to each Metro station on the Orange and Blue Lines:

Foggy Bottom: 21st & I, NW (2 blocks east)
Federal Triangle: 10th between Constitution and Pennsylvania, NW (1 block east)
Smithsonian: 12th & Independence, NW (at the south entrance)
L'Enfant Plaza: 7th & C, SW (at the Maryland Avenue entrance)

There are also stations 3rd & D, SE, 2 blocks east of Capitol South; and right at Eastern Market Metro.

For passengers continuing through on the Orange Line, you can pick up at 21st and I and drop it off on 10th near Federal Triangle or Smithsonian, or vice versa. If the station closest to Foggy Bottom is empty (if you're picking up) or full (if you're dropping off), there's another one at 19th, Pennsylvania, and H Streets.

(Blue Line passengers going to or from Pentagon or stations to the south should transfer at L'Enfant Plaza to one of the Blue Line trains that will be joining the Yellow Line temporarily on the 14th Street Bridge up to Mt. Vernon Square.)

For Red, Yellow and Green Line transferring passengers, there are a few bikeshare stations that can help.

Farragut North: 17th & L, NW (1 block east of the north entrance)
Dupont Circle: Massachusetts Avenue, NW just west of the circle (1 block south of the Q Street entrance)
Gallery Place: 8th & H, NW (1 block west of the H Street entrance)
Gallery Place and Judiciary Square: 6th & F, NW (1 block east of the Gallery Place Verizon Center entrance and 1 block west of the Judiciary Square north entrance)
New York Ave: 1st & M, NE (1 block west of the station)

The two stations around Gallery Place aren't open yet according to the Capital Bikeshare map, but DDOT said they should be open by the end of the week. Check the map before making your trip to make sure they're open if you use one of those. Update: According to DDOT's Chris Holben, they are both now in place.

The original station map had a station right at Foggy Bottom, but it's not listed as a future station on the current map.

It would have been quite advantageous to have this station, since it's within eyesight of the top of the escalator and likely would have attracted a great deal of positive attention. People standing in long lines waiting to board shuttle buses would have seen the easy alternate of bike sharing, assuming there were bikes available. On the other hand, that could have overwhelmed the existing stations, which some riders have reported finding full when they want to drop a bike off.

There are plenty of other stations as well, including at or near Pentagon City, Crystal City, Shaw, U Street, Waterfront and Navy Yard, and in many nearby and not so nearby neighborhoods.

If you're not a member, you can sign up for a daily membership for $5 at the kiosk at any station. That's likely cheaper than your Metro round trip fare.

Steve Offutt has been working at the confluence of business and environment for almost 20 years, with experience in climate change solutions, green building, business-government partnerships, transportation demand management, and more. He lives in Arlington with his wife and two children and is a cyclist, pedestrian, transit rider and driver.

David Alpert is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Greater Greater Washington. He has had a lifelong interest in great cities and great communities. He worked as a Product Manager for Google for six years and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He loves the area which is, in many ways, greater than those others, and wants to see it become even greater.