Hill Talk: Bike Sharing Gets a Renewed Boost Around the City
The D.C. Department of Transportation rolled out its list of proposed locations for bike-sharing expansion Monday, and several sites are in and around Capitol Hill.
The program has 10 stations with 100 bikes, but the plan is to expand that 10-fold in the coming months with sleeker bikes and a new name: Capital Bikeshare.
DDOT plans to place bike racks at the Union Station, Judiciary Square, Eastern Market, Navy Yard, Waterfront-SEU, Potomac Avenue and Stadium-Armory Metro stations.
Bike sharing locations are also planned for: 11th and H streets Northeast, Fourth and H streets Northeast, First and M streets Northeast, Fifth and K streets Northwest, First and F streets Northwest, Fourth and East Capitol streets, 11th and East Capitol streets near Lincoln Park, 12th Street and Independence Avenue Southeast, 14th and D street Southeast, Eighth and I streets Southeast, Seventh and C streets Southeast, Third and D streets Southeast, and Seventh and I streets Southwest.
Another Stop
For H Street Shuttle
The free H Street shuttle, which buses D.C. patrons from Chinatown to the Minnesota Avenue Metro stop along H Street, has added a new stop near Bladensburg Road.
Jen DeMayo, a member of the H Street Cooperative, said the additional stop is three to four blocks from the Argonaut and is near the Atlas District.
“The Bladensburg businesses are close to H Street, and they feel like they’re part of H Street in spirit, but they’re not visible when walking up and down H Street blocks,” DeMayo said.
According to DeMayo, the owner of Jimmy Valentine’s Lonely Hearts Club on Bladensburg Broad also owns Little Miss Whiskey’s, a bar on H Street. She said he saw the benefits and additional customers the free transportation brought to his business on H Street and probably wanted to capitalize on the shuttle’s benefits for his second restaurant.
DeMayo said the owner of the club joined with the Capital City Diner owner and appealed to Councilmembers Harry Thomas of Ward 5 and Tommy Wells of Ward 6 to add the Bladensburg Road stop to the shuttle. She said the two councilmembers approached the Department of Transportation with their constituents’ request and received approval for the additional shuttle stop.
Operated by the H Street Business Cooperative, a collaboration of businesses that seeks to bring more guests and customers to H Street businesses, shuttle rides began in January 2009 and run from 5 p.m. until the Metro closes.