Comments on Silver Spring bike station gets planning money - Greater Greater Washington

Comment by Richard Layman

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 18:19:50 EDT

I talked to MNCPPC about this in 2008, when I was writing my paper "Ideas for Making Cycling Irresistible in DC." A bike station would be in the vicinity of the transit center, not on the same site. (IN my conversation, I admonished them for not including one in the Transit Center, which is probably the most logical. He countered that there are still the trail connections in it, if not a bike station.)

The DC site had some unusual aspects which led it to cost a lot more than these stations typically cost.

Comment by waynep

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 14:21:51 EDT

The bike station at Silver Spring should be much less expensive to build than was the DC bike station. Much of the cost of the DC bike station was for a very high quality architectural design that could fit into the tight space alongside the historic Union Station building. The unique design requirements drove the cost up to several times that for a more basic design. The location of the Silver Spring bike station should not impose such high architectural requirements.

The Silver Spring bike station is not directly on the planned MBT/CCT alignment through the transit center, but will be across Wayne Avenue. This is not optimal, but is still reasonably convenient for cyclists using the transit center. Adequate secure bike parking will be a problem at the transit center without the additional bike parking capacity this bike station will bring.

Comment by jnb

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 13:18:47 EDT

@ Andrew

One thing I'd say about the snazzy bike station approach is that there's a strong communication element to it. Put something that's nicely designed in a visible location and it says "bikes are a priority." Yes, there's a risk that it becomes symbolic only, but there's some value in symbolism that counterbalances the smaller project, bigger-bang-for-the-buck approach that you're advocating (and that I frequently agree with).

Also, I wouldn't grumbling in the bike advocate community to lead funders to feel that people don't say "thank you" for good things.

@engrish_major

Fenton Street is atrocious and dangerous! If you're looking out for potholes and seams, you can't pay attention to the traffic. It's an incredible hazard that MoCo DPWT needs to address ASAP.

Comment by andrew

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 12:47:23 EDT

How about spending this money on a CaBi expansion or bike lanes?

The DC BikeStation cost almost as much as the entire Capital Bikeshare network. It was a very silly project, and let's please not repeat it.

(And I say this as a cycling advocate who bikes to work every day, owns a CaBi membership, and occasionally uses the CCT/MBT. That money could be *so* much better spent elsewhere.)

Comment by engrish_major

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 12:28:25 EDT

I can't download the attached PDF because I'm at work, but are they planning on attaching this facility to the CCT and/or MBT? As a downtown Silver Spring resident, I've got three terrible choices from my apartment to downtown DC where I can connect to bike lanes: Georgia Avenue, 16th Street, or the horribly-paved Fenton Street, which at least connects me to the trail by Montgomery College. Downtown Silver Spring is severely lacking in bike-friendliness at the moment.