Capital Bikeshare

Central Library Unveils Solar Panels

By Katie Pyzyk

The Central Library (1015 N. Quincy St.) held a ribbon cutting event Monday afternoon to unveil its newly installed solar panels.

The 250 panels on the roof of the building are expected to save the library $14,000 per year.

The project was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, through a grant administered by the U.S. Department of Energy. Dr. Henry Kelly of the U.S. Department of Energy, who lives in Arlington, said clean energy plans help to create jobs.

Kelly said, “Investing in clean energy is an integral part of the economic recovery process.”

Arlington County Board Vice-Chair Mary Hynes said the timing of the unveiling is fitting, considering October is National Energy Awareness month. She also wants more green initiatives to spread throughout Arlington.

Hynes said, “I hope this is the first of many opportunities to add solar to our buildings.”

The Central Library plans to continue its push for a greener community by installing a Capital Bikeshare station in front of the Quincy St. entrance. The goal is to have that in place by next spring.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

State Change Could Cost Arlington Millions — A proposed change in the way Virginia determines how much localities are reimbursed for road maintenance could cost Arlington $9.2 million per year if approved. [Sun Gazette]

Bikeshare Expansion Approved, Sort Of — The Arlington County Board voted on Saturday to use $1.2 million in state funds to build about 30 new Capital Bikeshare stations along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. Installation of the stations (and nearly 200 new bikes) is expected to wrap up in the summer of 2012. The action isn’t official yet, though. Due to an administrative error, the Board will have to reconsider the item at their Tuesday evening meeting. [Arlington County]

Board Talks Libraries at Meeting — Facing public comments in favor of restoring pre-recession hours at Arlington Public Library branches, the County Board on Saturday reiterated their support for the library. At the same time, members said that they must balance other budget priorities before restoring hours. [Sun Gazette]

Remembering Queen City — Former residents of an African-American enclave in Arlington known as Queen City recently recounted their experiences living there. Queen City was leveled in the mid-1940s t0 make way for the transportation infrastructure necessary for the new Pentagon complex. Many displaced residents settled in the Arlington View or Green Valley neighborhoods. [Patch]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Star Wars Event at Library — Arlington Central Library hosted a Star Wars costuming event over the weekend, as the above photo (uploaded to the library’s Facebook page) demonstrates.

School Stats Released — The class of 2011 at Arlington Public Schools had an on-time graduation rate of more than 87 percent, just above the state average of 86.6 percent. Arlington’s drop-out rate is declining, meanwhile. The rate was 9.8 percent in 2011, compared to 12.5 percent in 2008. [Arlington Public Schools]

Alexandria Gets Bikeshare — The Alexandria City Council voted yesterday night to join the Capital Bikeshare program. For Bikeshare members in Arlington, that means point-to-point trips to Old Town will be possible, from CaBi stations in Crystal City, Pentagon City and along the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor. [Washington Post]

N. Va., Military Contractor Mecca –Why have military contractors been moving their headquarters to Northern Virginia? Because they want “to be where the action is,” writes Forbes. In general: “Whether they generate sizable revenues from the government or not, big companies seem to like northern Virginia a lot, despite being surrounded by some of the worst traffic jams in the nation.” [Forbes]

Last Day for ABBIE Nominations — Today is the last day to nominate local businesses for the annual Arlington’s Best Business Awards. The 15 categories include “Best Brunch,” “Best Customer Service,” and “Best New Business.” (Disclosure: The ABBIE Awards are an ARLnow.com advertiser.) [ABBIE Awards]

Photo via Arlington Public Library

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Residents Decry Aircraft Noise — Noise from airplanes landing at Reagan National Airport is “seriously affecting residents’ quality of life” in the Radnor/Ft. Myer Heights neighborhood. Residents told airport representatives at last night’s civic association meeting that the noise has gotten considerably worse since nighttime repair work on the airport’s main runway began in May. [Ode Street Tribune]

Pike Resident Named Roommate of the Year — Columbia Pike resident Jesse McLaughlin has won free rent for a year and $10,000 cash after being named the Apartments.com Roommate of the Year. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office employee’s cooking and cleaning prowess helped him beat out nine other finalists for the title. As it turns out, Jesse’s roommate is actually his girlfriend, Lisa. [Roommate of the Year Contest]

Ride Planned for Capital Bikeshare Birthday — To celebrate Capital Bikeshare’s first birthday, and its one millionth ride, Bike Arlington is planning a celebratory ride into D.C. The convoy will be meeting at locations in Rosslyn and Crystal City tomorrow at 5:00 p.m., and will ride to Yards Park in the District. [CommuterPage Blog]

Flickr pool photo by Airpolonia

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Lost Dog Cafe Expanding — The Lost Dog Cafe location on Columbia Pike is expanding. The restaurant is taking over the space once occupied by an adjacent cell phone store. [Pike Wire]

Changes to ‘Secure Communities’ — The federal government is changing the ‘Secure Communities’ program to “avoid further confusion” about whether it’s optional or not. Arlington tried to “opt out” of the program — which shares local arrest data with federal immigration authorities — last year. The program will remain mandatory for local jurisdictions, but now it will be conducted without formal, signed memoranda of agreement with individual states. [Washington Post]

Capital Bikeshare Saves Lives? — Arlington’s Commuter Services department is touting a recent British study that found that a bike share program in Barcelona saved about 12 lives as a result of the extra physical activity from bicycling. The study also found that the program eliminated 9 million kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions. “In other words, bike-sharing and Capital Bikeshare are good for you and the air we breathe,” an Arlington official writes. [CommuterPage Blog]

Cuccinelli Shrugs off Local Dem Attacks — Those local Democratic candidates who have been calling Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli an “extremist” and other unkind words? Not a concern for Cuccinelli. “It’s a little bit hard to take seriously being called ‘so far outside the mainstream’ by people who are so far to the left they can’t see the middle,” he said in an interview. [Sun Gazette]

Meeting Tonight to Discuss Bikeshare Expansion

By ARLnow.com

County planners are holding a public forum tonight to discuss the expansion of Capital Bikeshare into the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor.

As we reported earlier this month, the meeting will seek input on 33 potential sites for Bikeshare stations throughout the corridor. In addition those sites, the county is also soliciting suggestion for other station locations via an interactive ‘crowdsourced’ map.

The selection criteria for new stations stipulate that the stations get 4+ hours of direct sunlight daily, be on flat ground and avoid creating “a dangerous situation for street users,” among other requirements. A total of 30 stations are expected to be built over the next year.

Tonight’s meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. in the Cherry/Dogwood rooms of the county government building at 2100 Clarendon Boulevard.

Meeting Planned to Discuss Capital Bikeshare Expansion

By ARLnow.com

With about 30 new Capital Bikeshare stations planned for the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor over the next 6-12 months, the county is seeking input as to where exactly the new stations should go.

Planners have already identified 33 potential CaBi expansion sites throughout the corridor. They have now scheduled a public meeting to discuss the proposed station locations and to gather additional location suggestions. The selection criteria for new stations stipulate that the stations get 4+ hours of direct sunlight daily, be on flat ground and avoid creating “a dangerous situation for street users,” among other requirements.

The meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. on June 27 , in the Cherry/Dogwood rooms of the county government building at 2100 Clarendon Boulevard.

A list of the proposed station locations, after the jump.
(more…)

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Smoke at Crystal City Metro Station — Firefighters from Arlington, Alexandria and Fort Myer responded to a report of smoke on the mezzanine level of the Crystal City Metro station around 3:30 p.m. yesterday. The smoke, it turns out, came from a faulty elevator belt, not from a fire. Just as quickly as they arrived, firefighters packed up their gear and headed back to their stations.

More Costs for Arlington Energy Plan — It will cost almost $500,000 in consultant fees and staff salaries to implement Arlington’s ambitious Community Energy Plan over the next year. The plan, which is designed to reduce the county’s greenhouse gas emissions, is up for adoption by the County Board on Tuesday. [Sun Gazette]

Alexandria Mulls Bikeshare Plan — Alexandria is thinking about spending $400,000 to place six Capital Bikeshare stations and 54 bicycles in Old Town and the Carlyle neighborhood. The plan has the potential of allowing CaBi trips between Crystal City and Old Town, but critics are questioning whether the plan is “a waste of money.” [Alexandria Gazette Packet]

Arlington Remodeler Honored — Rocker-turned-remodeler Michael Sauri has been named one of the “big 50” remodelers nationwide by Remodeling Magazine. Sauri, an Arlington resident, is the owner of Clarendon-based remodeling firm Tri-Vista USA. [PR Web]

Web Site Provides Quick View of Capital Bikeshare Availability

By ARLnow.com

A new web site called Capital Bikeshare Tracker is providing a quick view of bike availability at CaBi stations in Rosslyn, Crystal City and the District.

The site uses pie chart-style icons on a map to represent the number of bikes available at each station compared to the number of available bike docks. Clicking on a station gives you the option of seeing historical usage data for each station.

A map on the Capital Bikeshare web site will only display bike availability data after you click on an icon for the station.

Officials are in the process of adding about 30 stations to the Capital Bikeshare system in Arlington County. They expect the expansion to be complete by the end of the year.

Morning Poll: Bikeshare Worth the Parking Sacrifice?

By ARLnow.com

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

Celebrate Earth Day With Capital Bikeshare

By ARLnow.com

This Friday is Earth Day, and the folks from Bike Arlington and Capital Bikeshare will be celebrating by showing off one of the new Bikeshare stations in Rosslyn.

The event is being held at the Bikeshare station at Fort Myer Drive and Wilson Boulevard. From 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Bikeshare representatives will be demonstrating how the system works and giving away bike maps, CaBi schwag and one-day membership coupons.

The three other locations where Bikeshare stations were installed this weekend are North Lynn Street and 19th Street, North Pierce Street and Clarendon Boulevard, and North Rhodes and 16th Street North.

Flickr pool photo by Chris Reed

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