For many people who don’t have cars, Capital Bikeshare seems like a no-brainer. With all the money spent on road construction and maintenance, and with our streets lined with parked vehicles, the loss of a few parking spaces and the investment of a few thousand dollars to bring CaBi to Rosslyn is a drop in the bucket.
But to those who own cars and frequently utilize street parking, even the loss of a couple of parking spaces in a crowded area like Rosslyn can seem like an encroachment. Doubly so if you don’t believe Bikeshare is an efficient use of tax dollars.
Thus, when someone at the Arlington County Republican Committee observed the loss of eight parking spaces for CaBi’s four new Rosslyn locations, he or she took to blogosphere to vent.
“Those parking spaces had been heavily used by Rosslyn visitors and shoppers… but the County decided to replace the valuable spots with rental stations for the costly subsidized bicycle rental program,” the GOPer fumed on the committee’s blog.
“The loss of on-street parking in Rosslyn means additional inconvenience,” the GOPer argued. “It also hurts Rosslyn shops and restaurants, who depend on available parking to attract customers.”
The blog estimated that the loss of the parking spaces would cost the county $10,000 in parking meter revenue per year.
Do you think the loss of parking spaces and meter revenue is worth it in order to bring Capital Bikeshare to Rosslyn and – soon – other Orange Line locations?
Flickr pool photo by Patryce