SmartBike Penn Quarter Location + Pic

Mixed emotions when i saw that yesterday. My first reaction was what a shame, it is stuck right in the middle of the beautiful open sidewalk that we have been waiting years for.

But on second look inside the box, the actual rack itself is pretty sleek and hopefully once the wooden box around it will blend in an not be an eyesore that the bix orange box currently is.

This will probably be an unpopular opinion, but speaking as someone who walks a lot more than he parks/drives, I’d much rather see these bike share programs get curb/parking spots than sidewalk locations. I know, fat chance.

Bike sharing in DC will be an interesting experiment. Will I eventuall give up bike ownership, the way Flexcar got me to give up car ownership?

I REALLY hope the program expands quickly. I mean like start the second phase of locations in 2-3 months quickly. For it to be successful in the end, there will need to be a smartbike location basically 2 blocks from wherever you’re destination is (in central DC, this changes once the population density decreases). I hope DDOT realizes this and keeps the program moving. I’m excited! Now we need one at the plaza in Columbia Heights!

Even if the bike racks merit sidewalk locations generally, this isn’t a great choice. This particular sidewalk creates an open, plaza-like space with great views of the museum and the hotel and the east-west streetscape… why place a permanent bike rack smack dab in the middle? The sidewalk on the 9th Street side of the museum would offer plenty of space.

Well, I really liked the open expanse of the sidewalk. I think this bike share location is a little awkward and I also wonder how it will impact the Winter Festival. I hope the Festival is not impacted.

I’m REALLY curious to see how this experiment unfolds. Will people want to use the bikes for personal and business errands, or just joyriding? Will they be a novelty in the vein of Segway tours, or will they take off like ZipCar with thousands of members? Questions, questions…

I am really looking forward to using this system. From what I have read, it appears that the bikes can be used on a one way basis. (although this could cause other complications, such as too many bikes in one spot and not enough in another).

I emailed the company today and asked if there were any plans for kiosks at Union Station, Eastern Market or the Stadium, as that area seems to be left out completely.

We certainly have our share in the center of the city, a plus for Penn Quarter residents….translating to a quick ride to the new Safeway.

i agree with columbo.. our sidewalks are precious… and as someone who has had to negotiate the maze of construction over the last several years… i get a little territorial over them!
xoxo

DC law prohibits bicycle riding anywhere on sidewalks located in the Central Business District (defined, for PQ purposes as anywhere south of Mass Ave). So locating these on the sidewalk is pretty much tantamount to asking people to break the law.

I would think a companey engaged in the bicycle business would at least familiarize itself with the law in the jurisdictions in which it operates. But bottom line – bicycles downtown belong solely in the street.

To those of you who don’t like the bikes on the sidewalk (i am modestly in this camp but don’t feel all that strongly) I would not lie down and accept it as a given.

Who knows, maybe the bike company just decided to put the rack somewhere that wasn’t approved because it seemed like a better location. Its not exactly like DC is known for vigorous oversight on things like this.

BUT, its not going to change unless you do something. Why not call or write a letter to your council member or ANC commissioners for that area (6?)

Maybe you can at least get them to move it closer to the sidewalk. I am pretty sure that no one from the DC government would have thought to tell them – you can’t put it right in the middle of the promenade, you have to put it off to one side.

I would like to speak out in favor of placing the bike storage on the 7th and F NW corner.

While I enjoy views of broad plazas (which we have plenty of around our grand public buildings), I enjoy them even more when there are crowds of activity in the plazas. It creates an urban feel that there is a lot happening and there is energy.

Finally, it is safer to store the bikes on the sidewalk rather than a parking space, where people might be hit or slow down traffic lanes.

Before you file official complaints about it not being properly located. The location shown on the map is 7th and F, not 7th and E, as stated in the blog

Thanks PQ worker – don’t know how I missed that the location is actually correct.

geez, so many complainers…the rack takes up a small amount of space on that corner. I don’t see it getting in the way of the the sidewalk festivals at all.

I hope these bikes will have baskets for tomatoes and stuff.

I predict all bikes will be stolen within a month.. Just sayin..

This location is terrible – it destroys one of the few plaza-type spaces in PQ. I’m still neutral on the overall effect of this bike plan, but it is fraught with potential problems. Once you ride away on the bike, if you park it somewhere will you have a lock to use? What about helmets? I never use one, but most Americans seem to think a helmet is essential. What happens the first time a family from Iowa is run over by a taxi? Who do they sue – this bike company or DC? Both, probably.
And # 16 has a point – DC is #1 in few things, but we do have some of the more voracious thieves in the world, & if these bikes have any value, it’s not hard to imagine that … “all bikes will be stolen within a month…”
Should we have an over-under poll on how long this experiment will last?

geez. all this lack of faith in the city is making me want to move back to France.

(where there are bike stations curbside and tens of thousands of bike-sharing bikes circulating through out)

We already have bike rental places in DC, so I think some of the concerns being posted here are silly.

clear channel (ugh) is running it… says you have to pay $200 if it gets stolen… no thanks. why not just get a cheap bike? i couldn’t find info on locks… i give it until the fall before it fails.
http://smartbikedc.com/faqs.asp

oh, and you can only operate it in DC!! no trips to old town, arlington cemetery, along the path to bethesda!!! boo!
http://smartbikedc.com/user_agreement.asp

makes a for a funny read (the link above)… oh yeah, sounds like something everybody should sign up for,… not! (borat humor)

What happens when you go to return a bike and the stand is full? I’d hate to be stuck with a bike. The stands don’t look all that big.

I’m pretty sure this is hugely succesfull everywhere else. Lets not ruin it for ourselves already

if this concept has been tried elsewhere (it has), I’m sure that 99 44/100 % of the possible scenarios have been thought out or experienced by now. this isn’t sending someone to Mars, it’s renting bicycles.

in fact, the Program Information says:

>>The very first self-service bike rental program was ours in the city of Rennes in France in 1998, and subsequently, our programs rapidly spread to Scandinavia and Spain. SmartBike is the only bicycle rental program of its kind in the world: well tested, user and environmentally friendly and complementary to other modes of public transportation.< < the Clearchannel link is interesting. the fees all go to DDOT so the advertising must be Clearchannel's??? from the FAQ... >>Who gets the revenue from the subscriptions and usage fees?

All revenues from subscriptions and usage fees are paid to DDOT.<<

hey … i went to the smartbikes site at
http://www.smartbike.com/

clicked on rennes…
i get ‘page not found’ error
i was trying to see your side….
are they really a big deal there? or just that nobody uses the web in rennes….

First, in Paris, the bikes I saw were not on the sidewalks, but located where cars would normally park — in the street against the curb. They are used and the program really works; it is great!

Let’s not forget that in that city center, except for Baron von Haussmann’s boulevards, Paris’ streets are much narrower than ours, often requiring cars to park half on the sidewalk. Also, their population density is far greater than DC’s, and just by the numbers there are more people living in Paris than Washington, so even if every family doesn’t have a car, they have more than we do total. Last, they have very few garages, most under public places such as the sidewalks along the Champs Elysees and a plaza near Notre Dame, because there is little new construction in the historic city center (also, a much larger center than DC).

Though DDOT might have considered placing the bike racks in the street, selecting the wrong streets could have the same results as selecting the wrong sidewalk. I would not want any along F Street between 7th and 9th because of the events that take place there year after year and are a real bonus for Penn Quarter.

Second, I have not been to the corner to see the bike racks, but will check tomorrow. I can’t tell from the image, but it seems that it will make two events that use the sidewalk space — Arts on Foot and the Holiday Market — more difficult to set up. And we were so happy that completion of the Reynolds Center glass canopy would allow use of the sidewalk on both sides of the entrance in 2008! (Sob if we can’t get DDOT — assuming it is DDOT — to move them as they will make the logistics for events difficult.)

Third, I am trying to find out if the Smithsonian or the Downtown BID were consulted and participated in selecting the location; the PQNA was not consulted. As mentioned, this location is important for two events that the Downtown BID helps to produce, Arts on Foot with the PQNA and the Holiday Market with Diverse Markets Management Coalition.

Last, to me the ideal place for a bike rack would be right by a Metro station entrance. I am guessing that the planners thought there is too much congestion already at Verizon events to place the bike racks under the Verizon bldg. canopy by the Metro escalators, so they placed them across 7th Street in front of the Donald Reynolds Ctr. bldg. and perhaps didn’t think of the other Gallery Pl-Chinatown station entrances.

There are other possibilities: the recessed area where the Metro escalators are at 9th and G streets perhaps against the shrubs, under the building canopy by the Metro Center station escalators at 10th and G, under the MLK library arcade, or in the tree line along 9th Street near the 9th and G metro entrance.

Lots of questions and I hope to find out more!

Jo-Ann.

the rennes link is not properly formed. click here…

http://www.clearchannel.fr/veloalacarte/

There is a little bit of english on the rennes site. What it says is that it is “totally free”. I’d be for it if it was the same here. Apparently Americans aren’t to be trusted like the French? sad, or did I read it incorrectly? That would be so cool if it were free here, not having to risk $200 every time and carrying a bike lock around.

Some thoughts:

Re: #17, “This location is terrible – it destroys one of the few plaza-type spaces in PQ.”

Destroys? Laying it on a bit thick are we? I’m not saying there aren’t possibly better location choices, but when I look at that picture the amount of space that bike box is using is very little.

Re: #17, “What happens the first time a family from Iowa is run over by a taxi?”

There are already other bike vendors in the city that cater to tourists. Considering SmartBikeDC has a membership fee ($75?) it’s not cost effective for one-time-use and I expect tourists will continue to use other vendors.

Re: General Theft
From the pictures I’ve seen these bikes tend to have very different frame than your typical bike. I imagine that’s to reduce the black market for them as it will be obvious to many it’s a ‘hot’ bike.

Re: Risking $200
You can only have the bikes for 3 hours – right? If you take a bike from lower Penn Quarter and ride up 7 blocks to the CityVista Safeway and lock it up while you shop for 45 minutes what are the odds it gets stolen? Seem incredibly unlikely to me that someone is going to try to bust your lock open in broad daylight with that much foot traffic around and not knowing when you will emerge from the grocery. If you didn’t lock it then sure. But a locked bike parked for a short amount of time during the day shouldn’t be much of a risk. But if you parked a locked bike in DC overnight the risk certainly increases.

Wow. Now something new to bitch about.

I actually went to the rack — as most of you did not. The rack is rather sleek behind the large construction area. It will not “destroy” the sidewalk. And Arts-on-Foot/Holiday market will be fine now that the west end of the plaza/sidewalk is available.

As far as returning bikes when the rack is full: go to another rack (closest is MLK Library) or ride a bit further and Metro back. Is it an inconvenience? Yes — but that is part of the deal you agree to in order use the service. Don’t like it — don’t do it.

A $200 security fee/stolen bike fee? Seems reasonable to be. Be responsible, people. Sheesh.

I am very excited about this. I have used similar programs across Europe and it is incredibly helpful. The big question is will it work for Americans who are more entitled and less likely to think about the greater good and more about themselves. Like many on this blog. Hmmm.

Everywhere this type of bike sharing program has been implemented the same and or similar stipulations for subscription are in effect. In both Paris, Rennes and say, Barcelona one must
a) Pay a membership fee
b) Pay a fee if the bike is lost under their watch

In both Paris and Barcelona (Two cities to which I have active subscriptions) the bikes are sometimes curbside and sometimes installed in open public spaces (Plazas, wide sidewalks etc.)

So we need to give this a shot because it is no different than it has been anywhere else in the world (save for the logistics of hours of operation etc).

I lived in Paris during the whole period of implementation of the velib system and let me tell you there was no consulting the neighbors, they put the stations as many places as they could based on population, demand, visibility etc. Even in big squares where they hold markets every week. The markets simply set up around them. Not an issue.

The key to the success of this system (as many people have already mentioned) will be how quickly they can create a network of stations through out the city.

Hooray for bike-sharing!

The one I used in Paris and Lyon was not by membership…it was with a credit card into the machine and voila.

The Post has an article on the program with a picture of the bikes and racks. Seems it’s part of Clear Channel’s bus shelter contract.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/18/AR2008041803037.html?hpid=sec-metro