(Source: Examiner, DC-ist)

City officials gathered Friday morning to open the new Union Station Bike Transit Center, the first secure bicycle parking facility of its kind on the East Coast.  The inside of the helmet-shaped facility includes secure parking for over 100 bikes, about 50 rentable lockers, a relatively spacious changing room, and a bike repair shop that is available to the general public, as well as members.

The Post offers more basic details: it’s 1,700 square feet, costs $100 per year for membership, and will contain changing rooms, personal lockers, and a bike repair shop.  All good things, though it’s a shame they couldn’t find a way to include some showers.

DC Department of Transportation Director Gabe Klein noted that 60 people had already signed up for memberships to the facility before it even opened today, as evidence of the potential demand for this kind of service in Washington.  Memberships currently cost $96 for a full year, or $12 per month. All members are additionally charged a $20 annual administrative fee. You can also purchase $1 daily passes in increments of $10 (in other words, 10 days worth of access for $10, 30 days worth of access for $30, and so on). You should normally receive your membership card in the mail about five business days after applying, though this early registration process could take a little longer. Membership cards allow users 24/7 access to the parking area.

The beautiful new facility elicited the following comments (courtesy of Examiner):

• The Washington Post’s Dr. Gridlock compares the Bike Station to a space ship that “took a wrong turn at the Mall and parked next to the train station.”
• The Washington Business Journal points out that the DC Bikestation is part of a nationwide network that includes 12 other stations and 200 expected within the next five years. That, perhaps more than this particular bike station, is a significant story that reporters ought to be following.
• DCist spoke with Andrea White-Kjoss, the CEO of Mobis/Bikestation who says the station “represents D.C’s big statement about what they want to do for bicyclists in the city.”

(Source: NPR)

Today, NPR had an interesting coverage of DC’s newest addition to its growing biking infrastructure.  Just outside Washington, D.C.’s central train station, construction is under way on a sleek, modern, glass-and-metal bike garage. Here is the audio snippet (via Apture):

“Some people say it’s a half-football or a shell,” says Mazen Soueidan, the project manager. “It has four sides [with] scalloped shells that overlap.”

Once completed, the Bikestation will hold 130 bikes, lockers and a small shop for repairs. Located next to the Metro subway exit at Union Station, the system will provide secure bike storage for commuters who want to cycle through Washington once they arrive from “feeder” cities like Baltimore.

Image courtesy: The City Fix DC

Of course, part of the appeal of bicycling is convenience — you can lock a bike to pretty much anything.

But if you lock your bike to a parking meter, you might come back to find it’s missing a seat or wheels, or it’s just gone. Soueidan says theft was an issue even while building the bike garage.

Set to open in October, the Bikestation will require either an annual membership or a daily usage fee.

Paine says introducing the system to Washington is part of a larger shift toward “dispelling the notion that the car is an essential part of our daily lifestyle.”

John Ciccarelli of Bicycle Solutions in San Mateo, Calif., agrees. “What’s growing is acceptance that the bicycle is a mode of transportation as well as recreation,” he said.

Image Courtesy: NPR - Levered arms inside the bike garage allow bicycles to be stored one on top of the other.

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