Local cyclists will have a chance to show off their athletic skills and raise money for at-risk kids and teens during a massive bike ride this fall.
Nonprofit Run Hope Work is set to host Bike to Brooklyn, a 267-mile bike ride where cyclists will travel from BicycleSPACE (2424 18th St. NW) in Adams Morgan to Brooklyn on the weekend of Oct. 8 and 9.
Early Saturday morning, riders will start the grueling ride to New York City. Along the way, they’ll stop for food and rest, including a visit Philadelphia to meet up with more cyclists, Harrison said.
While the end goal is to ride all the way to Brooklyn, the journey doesn’t end there. Upon arriving, participants will able to enter the 13-mile Staten Island Half marathon, according to the event’s organizers.
“They’re going to be going on a ride of a lifetime,” said Kate Harrison, executive director of Run Hope Work.
Though a dozen people made the inaugural Bike to Brooklyn ride last year, at least 60 to 75 bicyclists are expected to participate this year, Harrison said.
To join the ride, cyclists must pay $200 and raise an additional $750 for Run Hope Work. If they don’t manage to raise the total amount, they will be responsible for paying the rest, Harrison said. However, Harrison added she believes the price and the risk of having to pay $750 is worth it when you factor in the included jersey, entry into the Staten Island Half Marathon, meals and planned parties.
Plus, attendees will appear in a documentary film about this year’s ride, Harrison said. And, of course, she added, they also stand to make the world a better place by raising money for at-risk kids and teens.
The organization will host training rides and open registration periods at the Ivy City BicycleSPACE (1512 Okie St. NE) throughout August and September.
Photo courtesy of Kate Harrison
(Correction: It appears as though Bikeshare moved its station at Florida Ave. and R St. NW in Bloomingdale, not Florida Ave. and R St. NW in Dupont. We’ve corrected this article to reflect that.)
Some cyclists in Columbia Heights and Bloomingdale will have to rent Bikeshare bikes from new locations, at least temporarily.
The hubs at Florida Ave. and R St. NW and 14th and Harvard streets NW have been relocated nearby so workers can install permeable pavement, according to Capital Bikeshare.
Over the next two months, several Capital Bikeshare stations throughout the district will be temporarily relocated or removed, according to a Bikeshare press release. The stations are set to be relocated “within sight of normal location,” the release reads. Each adjustment is expected to last up to one week.
Here’s a full list of the stations that will be affected:
A cyclist is in critical condition after a crash with someone driving a car downtown this afternoon, according to authorities.
The collision happened on the 1100 block of 19th Street NW near Nooshi about 1:15 p.m., D.C. Fire and EMS Department spokesman Oscar Mendez told Borderstan.
The cyclist, who was riding a Capital Bikeshare bicycle, was rushed to a local hospital after the crash.
(Correction: This article originally noted the meeting would take place June 17. It will actually take place June 15. We’ve made the correction below.)
Local officials are looking at several ways to improve transportation for cyclists, pedestrians and bus riders traveling near Foggy Bottom, Farragut and McPherson Square.
The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is scheduled to host a public meeting next month to talk about its planning study to improve an area that includes:
- Pennsylvania Ave. NW between 17th St. and Washington Circle
- H and I streets NW between New York Ave. and Pennsylvania Ave.
The purpose of the study is to enhance the streetscape and to evaluate the possibility of a bicycle facility or cycle track along Pennsylvania Ave. and to “assess the operational feasibility of a contraflow bus lane on H Street NW between New York Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue,” according to a DDOT notice.
The District’s multimodal transportation plan identified Pennsylvania Ave. NW as a “priority cycle track corridor and H Street NW as a priority high-capacity transit corridor,” officials said.
DDOT employees will share project goals and objectives and solicit public feedback during the June 15 discussion at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library (901 G St. NW) at 6 p.m.
Map courtesy of DDOT
Police have arrested someone wanted for stealing a bicycle in Mount Pleasant when its owner was with it yesterday afternoon, police said.
The robbery happened on the 3100 block of Mount Pleasant Street NW about 3 p.m.
The victim was in the area when a person approached and yanked the victim’s bicycle away, according to authorities. The bike’s owner then located police officers, who canvassed the area for the robber.
Police eventually found someone matching the description of the thief and arrested the individual.
Authorities haven’t released the name of the suspect.
Photo via Google Maps
Capital Bikeshare bikes may become even more common as the District Department of Transportation plans to add 99 new bike stations and make some existing stations bigger over the next three years.
A plan released by DDOT on Tuesday aims to expand Bikeshare to underserved locations and increase service in areas where the service is already popular. Most of the Borderstan coverage area is within Bikeshare’s “core” area, where the service is already very popular. In the next year, the agency plans to expand some stations in the core area while also adding stations east of the river and in other places with few Bikeshare options.
The plan calls for several additional stations to be built in the next year around Columbia Heights and Logan Circle, two areas that already have high rates of Bikeshare use.
DDOT has already identified locations for some of the stations to be added in the next year, as well as 21 stations to be expanded. Ten of the expanded stations are within the Borderstan area:
- Convention Center at 7th Street NW will add 4 additional bikes
- 11th and M streets NW will add 8 additional bikes
- 15th and P streets NW will add 8 additional bikes
- 14th Street NW and Rhode Island Avenue NW will add 8 additional bikes
- 20th Street NW and Florida Avenue NW will add 8 additional bikes
- 7th and T streets NW will add 8 additional bikes
- 14th and Belmont streets NW will add 8 additional bikes
- New Hampshire Avenue NW and T Street NW will add 8 additional bikes
- 18th and M streets NW will add 4 additional bikes
- U and 10th streets NW will add 4 additional bikes
Of the new stations that the agency plans to build in the Borderstan area in 2016, only one location has been announced, at 14th and Irving streets NW in Columbia Heights.
DDOT is seeking public input before finalizing the plan, and comments can be submitted online until Nov. 15.
DC ranks among top U.S. cities in terms of our bicycle and pedestrian programs. (Luis Gomez Photos)
From Maggie Barron. You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @maggiebarron.
As far as transportation goes, DC often gets a bad rap. Sure, we have the country’s worst drivers, and we may be approaching “metrogeddon” with the 8-month closure of the Dupont Circle southern escalators.
But there’s good news. We also rank among the top U.S. cities in terms of our bicycle and pedestrian programs, according to a study out this week from the Alliance for Biking & Walking.
Of the 51 largest U.S. cities, the District boasts the highest per-capita funding for cycle and pedestrian facilities and education. The report, Bicycling and Walking in the United States: 2012 Benchmarking Report, says DC spends approximately $9.82 per resident to promote biking and walking. Nationwide, states spent on average just $2.17.
Not surprisingly, the report identified a virtuous cycle of infrastructure investment, improved safety and increased bike and pedestrian commuting. Among those 51 cities, DC also had:
- the second highest share of commuters who walk to work (after Boston).
- the seventh highest share of commuters who bike to work.
- the second lowest rate of car ownership (after New York).
- The sixth lowest rate of bike/ped fatalities.
In a press release, Mayor Vincent Gray celebrated the news:
I have made it clear I want the District of Columbia to be the most sustainable, walkable city in the nation. It’s great to see where we stand among our peers and that we are making real progress toward that goal.
This report gave me quite a bit to think about. We often hear about drivers acting aggressively towards bikers, or of problems with pedestrians and cars. Getting around in DC is far from perfect, but think about how much worse it must be in other cities. If we are sixth in bike/ped safety (and I still can’t get a car to stop for me at the crosswalk at 14th Street and Wallach Place NW), then what’s it like in Fort Worth, Texas, which ranks 51, or Phoenix (#48) or even San Diego (#23)?
Another thing I found particularly interesting in the data was that the share of commuters biking and walking seemed to have nothing to do with the weather. The number one state for biking and walking was Alaska! Number two was Vermont. Eight of the 10 top states have snow on the ground pretty much all the time, while states like Florida and Texas ranked dismally. So as I bundle up to walk to work tomorrow, at least I’ll have my pride to keep me warm.
The story is here at One Photograph A Day. It’s your car versus bike story at 16th and R NW.
I have already seen two locations for SmartBikeDC in the area — the northwest corner of 14th and U (pictured) and at the southwest corner of 14th and Rhode Island Avenue (by 7-11). Smart bike locations are on this map.
The SmartBike rental rack at 14th and U Streets by the Reeves Municipal Center.
Front page (PDF) of the August 13 Dupont Current… read about a proposal to remove the reversable traffic lane on upper 16th Street from Irving Street to Arkansas Avenue and install a median:
“At a Monday meeting to discuss the impact of the D.C. Department of Transportation’s pedestrian master plan on Ward 4, proposals to change the face of 16th Street provoked some residents’ concern. The plan, which was developed over 18 months, aims to make D.C. “a city where any trip can be taken on foot safely and comfortably and where roadways equally serve pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users and motorists,”
Read entire article in Dupont Current (PDF). Note: Article continues in second PDF.
