PlanItMetro

Bicycles parked at racks at Metrorail stations inched up again this year, and Union Station is now Metro’s number-one station for bicycle access.

Union Station is now the busiest Metrorail station for bicycle access.

Using bike rack counts – one of two ways we gauge bike-to-rail access – bikes parked at Metrorail stations increased by 1% in the last year.  The number of bike racks increased 20% over the same time period. (The second measurement of bike access from theMetrorail Passenger Survey was published last week here).

Some highlights:

• Overall bikes parked is up slightly above 2012.  However, we observed each station only once or twice, so it is difficult to discern long-term trends from short-term variation so far.
• Union Station is now the single biggest station for bicycle access, not including bikes parked  inside the BikeStation there. We counted 130 bikes at that station, well beyond the capacity at racks.
• Bike parking capacity is up 20% since 2012, including the College Park Bike & Ride. Metro now has space for over 5,000 bicycles at stations. We (and our partners) continue to add bike parking capacity to stay on track to reach our goal of 7,000 bicyclists by 2020.
• Bike use increased at several major stations such as East Falls Church, Vienna, Greenbelt, and NoMa, but decreased at other stations such as King Street, Braddock Road, and Franconia-Springfield.
• Bicycle numbers remained about even at several perennial heavy-hitters like Medical Center, Takoma, Grosvenor, and Columbia Heights.

Read more…

Earlier this year Metro completed a comprehensive service evaluation study of Routes 4A, 4B, 4E, 4H.  Metro is proposing to implement one of the changes recommended in this study.  Currently, Route 4A runs from Culmore to the Rosslyn Metrorail station. Under the proposed service change, the Culmore to Seven Corners segment of this route would be eliminated and replaced by a new Route 26A.  The proposed 26A would serve Northern Virginia Community College (Annandale campus), Annandale, Culmore, Seven Corners Transit Center, and East Falls Church Metrorail station.

The maps below illustrates the changes proposed. Please review and let us know what you think.  We will also be presenting these options at our upcoming public hearings.

Map showing proposed change of 4A route. Click image for larger version.

Map showing proposed 26A route. Click image for larger version.