LeDroit Park Civic Association President and ANC 1B01 candidate Marc Morgan has confirmed that our neighborhood is on the short list to receive one of the 15 new Capital Bikeshare stations this fall.  The station will likely go at the Park at LeDroit on the Elm Street side.

The District and Arlington continue to buy stations and expand the system, filling in more gaps throughout the densest parts of both jurisdictions. Sure, we don’t quite match the richly bespeckled station density of Montréal or Paris, but local annual budgets include capital line items to purchase more stations.

Despite the fact the system is approaching its second birthday, many news outlets misunderstand the purpose of the system.  The annual fee of $75 allows subscribers to rent the bikes at no additional charge for an unlimited number of 30-minute trips.

The 30-minute free period— there’s a charge for longer trips— is supposed to discourage riders from taking out the bikes for hours on end.  In fact, the intended purpose is not joy-riding around town, but to facilitate trips that are slightly too long to walk and slightly too short for driving or transit.

For instance, I find CaBi to be to most convenient way to get between LeDroit Park and Dupont Circle.  No need to wait for buses or trains, no need to transfer at Gallery Place, no need to hunt for parking.

Stations already exist near LeDroit Park, at 7th and T Streets NW and at First Street and Rhode Island Avenue NW.  The new station will finally put LeDroit Park on the CaBi map.

Capital Bikeshare, the District’s smashingly successful bikesharing system, will expand this fall.  Unfortunately, the expansion plans for this fall exclude LeDroit Park.

The District and Arlington launched the system a year ago with 14 stations in Arlington and 100 in the District.  This fall, DDOT will add 34 stations in the District.  In our area, DDOT will add a station by the Shaw Library and another at 1st Street NW and Rhode Island Avenue NW in Bloomingdale.

These additions should help alleviate the pressure placed on the existing stations at 7th & T Streets NW in Shaw and at Florida Avenue and R Street NW in Bloomingdale.  Currently, LeDroiters and Bloomingdalers compete to use these two stations and thus frequently leave the stations empty or full during rushhour.

Last week DDOT Director Terry Bellamy announced that the district will add 50 stations early next year.  We hope that in this new round DDOT focuses more attention on LeDroit Park and other neighborhoods in ANC 1B.

For instance, a Capital Bikeshare station could easily go in at the Park at LeDroit’s south entrance at 3rd and Elm Streets NW.  This location is central to the neighborhood and could bring some extra eyes to the park throughout the day.

Outside of LeDroit Park, there is a noticeable station gap in the northern reaches of Bloomingdale and around Cardozo High School.

Capital Bikeshare is particuarly successful in our part of DC for several reasons:

• Car ownership is relatively low compared to the rest of the nation, region, and city.  This inclines people to bike more.
• Parking is particularly difficult on many neighborhood streets, thus making cycling more attractive.
• The historical development of this area has permitted the close proximity of commercial uses to residential uses.  This means trips to shops and restaurants are short and easily made by bike.
• Downtown is a short ride away and biking is often faster than taking the bus.