Fairfax County officials announced last week that Reston will be part of Capital Bikeshare by late 2016 or early 2017.
Planners envision 130 bikes and 13 stations, all north of the Dulles Toll Road, as an additional way of getting people from the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station (and future Reston Parkway station) to Plaza America, Reston Hospital Center, the Reston Regional Library and other points.
Fairfax County’s first bikeshare system will begin here, with the goal of eventually expanding to Tysons Corner, Herndon and Merrifield, said Fairfax County Bicycle Coordinator Adam Lind.
Lind says there are already more than 1,000 residents of Fairfax County who have Capital Bikeshare memberships.
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Reston will be getting Fairfax County’s first bikeshare system, and Fairfax County officials expect it to be operational by late 2016 or early 2017.
The tentative plans for an extension of Capital Bikeshare have been in the works for more than a year, since the county completed a feasibility study in spring of 2014. Since then, bicycle program staff as been identifying potential vendors — the plan is to go with Capital Bikeshare, already in place in the District and Arlington — as well as station sites and additional money sources.
Last week, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors OKed the county’s application for the Virginia Department of Transportation’s FY 2017 Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) Grant Application. The grant will give the bike program $400,000 as seed money for bike share program. The money will go to pay for needed equipment such as 130 bicycles and 13 stations.
“We consider the TAP grant Fairfax County’s endorsement of the project,” said Fairfax County Bicycle Program Coordinator Adam Lind. “The project is ready to open into the design [process].”
Lind said the program will be seeking additional local funding, as well as sponsorship as the total estimated cost of system is close to $800,000. Federal funds can only be used for equipment and stations, not for operational costs, said Lind.
Lind was in Reston Thursday night to show bikeshare timelines, stations and take feedback from citizens.
Some of the highlights:
The system will start in Reston, with the goal of eventually expanding to Tysons Corner, Herndon and Merrifield.
The design will not have to go through Reston Association’s Design Review Board as no stations are on RA land.
The next steps will be land acquisition, completing the design plan, and finalizing funding. Different sites have different challenges, such as whether they are on private property (i.e., Reston Town Center, Reston Hospital) or public land, and whether there is already a hard surface in place or one needs to be constructed.
Bikeshare stations can be moved, said Lind. For example, if a station is built at Restion Regional Library, which may get a new facility in a slightly different location in the future, the station can be moved near the new building.
The tentative timeline calls for opening in late 2016 or early 2017. Lind stressed that that estimate is rough as federal funding requires additional steps that could slow the down the process. Also, the he prefers the system open “when people are active and outside,” so the system likely would not open in deep winter.
All Reston stations are located north of the Dulles Toll Road (see graphic). Lind says the county looked into stations at various office buildings in south Reston, but decided the locations would throw off the balance of bikes throughout the day.
“People would ride to work on the south side and there would not be any constant flow,” he said. “Bikes would just sit by the workplaces all day.”
While Reston has 55 miles of Reston Association trails, the W & OD Trail and many bike lanes, one citizen in attendance questioned whether the community is bike-friendly enough to be safe for bikeshare riders, He pointed out that bikeshare riders are often occasional cyclists rather than experienced riders.
“Are you going to throw a bunch of bikes into places where there are a lot of cars?” he asked. “All of those driveways are going to be key places where bikes and cars can meet.”
Lind pointed out that Fairfax County plans additional bike improvements (lanes, signage) countywide, as well as an awareness and safety campaign prior to the system opening.
“One of the benefits of bikeshare is it does get people used to using biking as a transportation alternative,” said Lind.
Graphic courtesy of Fairfax County
Reston may be getting closer to a bikeshare system.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday endorsed the county’s applications for the Virginia Department of Transportation’s FY 2017 Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) Grant Application.
The county hopes to get $400,000 from the state as seed money for bike share program. Other projects seeking funding are Vienna Metrorail bicycle access improvements; a cinder bed bike path near the Franconia-Springfield Metro station; and improvements for bike access on Van Dorn Street in Alexandria.
Applications for the grant program are due Nov. 1.
County biking authorities conducted a feasibility study on a Reston bikeshare in 2014. They will give an update on the progress of the bikeshare plan Oct. 29 at Dogwood Elementary School at 7 p.m.
Capital Bikeshare, which has suburban programs in Alexandria, Arlington, and Rockville, Md., would offer those who live and work in Reston an additional way to access the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station, as well as the future Reston Town Center station, Reston Town Center and other location.
The capital equipment needed for a Reston bikeshare station includes docking stations, bicycles and kiosks. The current projection is for 13 stations and 130 bicycles, which will cost about $766,000
The county will request $400,000 from TAP and pay $100,000 in county funds for the program. That would leave an additional $266,000 in funding necessary to get the program started.
The Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) guidelines state applicants are required to provide a 20 percent match, with grant awards covering the 80 percent remaining. Local jurisdictions are also required to pay for any cost overruns.
VDOT’s TAP regulations require the sponsoring jurisdiction to accept responsibility for future maintenance and operating costs of any projects that are funded.
Photo: Bikesharing in Arlington/ARLnow.com file photo
Beginning Saturday, Metro’s Silver Line will take visitors from Downtown D.C. directly to Reston.
But how they will get around Reston once they are here is still a work in progress.
While the Silver Line will likely be a boon to area residents who commute to D.C., it remains to be seen how it will be used for occasional visitors, such as those attending a meeting or special event.
The Wiehle-Reston East Station — located at Sunset Hills Road, Wiehle Avenue and the Dulles Toll Road — will be the end of the line for at least five years. When Phase 2 opens after 2018, there will be stations at Reston Parkway, Herndon, Route 28, Dulles International Airport and Ashburn.
Wiehle-Reston East is located closer to the south end of Reston, and while there are many office buildings nearby, the heart of the Reston business district around Reston Town Center is still more than a mile away.
Currently, the options are to walk or to hop on a Fairfax Connector bus. There are more than a dozen buses routes in Reston. Visit Fairfax Connector’s website to see interactive maps of where you need to go and whether a bus can take you there from the Reston Transit Center.
In the future, urban style transportation amenities may add to visitor options at Wiehle-Reston East.
Scott Hall, General Manager of Zipcar’s Washington office, says the car sharing service is “actively pursuing the possibility of placing cars in the Reston area in the future.”
“Zipcar is very excited about the extension of the Silver Line,” he said. “We are currently in talks to have Zipcars placed at multiple Silver Line stations with the hopes that they will be in place very soon. Zipcar continues to see strong utilization and membership growth in the D.C. area, and members tell us that they routinely use Zipcar in concert with public transit, so we will do our best to meet those needs to provide ‘wheels when you want them.’ “
Bikesharing may also come to Reston. Fairfax County has contracted with consultants to examine the feasibility of putting the county’s first bikeshare operation in Reston.
Consultants Charlie Denney and Fionnuala Quinn of Alta Planning + Design, hired by the county last winter, say bikesharing would be feasible in Reston as it makes the transition to a transit-oriented community.
Phase 1 of a bikeshare in Reston would consist of 13 stations with 130 bikes. Locations would include the plaza at the Wiehle-Reston East Silver Line Station; Sunset Hills/Plaza America; Reston Town Center/Freedom Drive; Bluemont/Transit Center; Reston-Wiehle East Southside; Town Center Parkway and Market Street; Reston Town Center/Fountain Drive; Market/Explorer Streets; Town Center Parkway/Reston Hospital; Bowman Towne Drive/Library; and two at the Spectrum.
The estimated cost of phase 1 would be $1.2 million: $54K is for startup costs, $766K for capital (cost of stations, docks, bikes), and $397K for operating costs.
What is not yet certain: who would pay the bikeshare costs. In other suburban-area bikeshares (Arlington, Montgomery County), funding came from a combination of federal, state and local money, as well as developer proffers, county bicycle coordinator Charlie Strunk said.
Meanwhile, if you are arriving in Reston with your own bike soon, check out Fairfax Advocates for Better Biking’s routes.
More Silver Line news:
- Silver Line: In Their Own Words
- Glimpsing the Future at Wiehle-Reston East Open House
- Connector Will Run Special Shuttles on Silver Line Opening Day
- Silver Line, Connector Will Link Air and Space Museums
- Silver Line Opening Day Plans
- Fairfax Buses Changing Routes for Silver Line Service
- Throwback Thursday: Reston Station Groundbreaking
- Silver Line: Don’t Park Here
- Answering Your Silver Line Questions
Photo: Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (R) and other bicycle enthusiasts pedal to Wiehle-Reston East/Credit: FABB
Bikeshare consultants looking at the feasibility of putting Fairfax County’s first bikeshare program in Reston, say Reston could support a bikeshare system.
Consultants Charlie Denney and Fionnuala Quinn of Alta Planning + Design, hired by the county last winter, say that the feasibility study should be finished by the end of June. At a community meeting at Dogwood Elementary School Wednesday, they gave participants some of the highlights of the study:
In general, bike sharing would be feasible in Reston as the community makes the transition to a transit-oriented place. In July, Metro’s Silver Line will open its first station here (Wiehle-Reston East), with the Reston Parkway station slated to open in 2018.
Phase 1 would consist of 13 stations with 130 bikes. Locations would include the plaza at the Wiehle-Reston East Silver Line Station; Sunset Hills/Plaza America; Reston Town Center/Freedom Drive; Bluemont/Transit Center; Restom-Wiehle East Southside; Town Center Parkway and Market Street; Reston Town Center/Fountain Drive; Market/Explorer Streets; Town Center Parkway/Reston Hospital; Bowman Towne Drive/Library; and two at the Spectrum.
The estimated cost of phase 1 would be $1.2 million: $54K is for startup costs, $766K for capital (cost of stations, docks, bikes), and $397K for operating costs.
What is not yet certain: who would pay the bikeshare costs. In other suburban-area bikeshares (Arlington, Montgomery County), funding came from a combination of federal, state and local money, as well as developer proffers, county bicycle coordinator Charlie Strunk said.
Those networks are owned by the jurisdictions but operated by Alta Bikeshare, which oversees maintenance, rebalancing, and the warehouse, among other things. Operations are partially funded by user fees. Membership fees range from $7 an hour to $75 annually, with additional charges per use.
Eventually, Phase 2 would include stations in the Lake Anne and South Lakes areas.
— Bruce Wright of Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling contributed to this article.
File photo of Capital Bikeshare in Arlington
Two big glimpses into the future of the area’s two-wheeled transportation will happen in Reston on Wednesday.
Fairfax County officials, who are eying Reston as a possible location for the county’s first bikeshare program, will present the results of a feasibility study at Dogwood Elementary at 6:30 p.m.
Fairfax County recently contracted with Alta Planning + Design to determine if bikesharing would work as Reston prepares to become a transit oriented community with the opening of Metro’s Silver Line next month.
“I get calls from Westfield, Chantilly, asking when can we get a bikeshare,” Fairfax County bicycle coordinator Charlie Strunk told participants in a community bikeshare meeting at Lake Anne Elementary in January. “The easy answer, probably not. Those places don’t have the density. We picked Reston because we think Reston is the best choice. Tysons is a way off. Reston has fairly good density, mixed use, a mix of shopping, office and residential.”
The feasibility study was paid for with a grant from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. Main questions asked were who would use the bikeshare, where should stations be located, and would suburban residents use bicycles as a transportation alternative and not recreation.
Immediately after the bikeshare meeting the county will present the final draft of the Fairfax County Bicycle Master Plan from 7:30-9 p.m.
Fairfax County is developing a countywide bicycle master plan. The plan will determine what steps should be taken to improve the existing transportation system and make Fairfax County bicycle friendly.
Coming in the plan: recommendations for a network of both on-road and off-road facilities that will serve as a bicycle transportation network as well as ideas on how bicycle friendly design can be incorporated into future roadway projects and transit projects.
Photo: Capital Bikeshare station at Pentagon City/File photo
Reston-area bike advocates are looking towards a bikeshare system in Reston, and now they are ready for community input on the topic.
There will be a public meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. at Lake Anne Elementary School. Meeting topics will include an overview of the bicycle sharing program, bicycle operations, infrastructure needs, and bicycle station locations.
A bikeshare in Reston would be the first system in Fairfax County. Biking advocates — as well as Fairfax County officials — say Reston’s existing system of trails and its future as a transit-oriented development makes it an excellent place to test such a program. Arlington and Montgomery County are among other suburban areas with bikeshares.
In December, about 25 stakeholders representing Reston, Fairfax County, developers, bike advocacy groups, Reston Town Center and Lake Anne Plaza met with representatives from Alta Planning & Design, the firm that developed Capital Bikeshare.
The meeting was the beginning of a feasibility study for a Reston bikeshare program. Last spring, Fairfax County applied for and received study funds from Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) Transportation/Land Use Connections (TLC) Technical Assistance Program.
Meanwhile, Bixi, the company that manufactures bikeshare bikes for more than a dozen cities, including Washington, DC, announced this week that it has filed for bankruptcy. That could lead to delays in procuring bikes in many programs.
The grant will look at creative ways bikesharing can work in Reston. In its grant application, the county said Reston would be an ideal test case for a Fairfax County bikeshare:
“Reston area has the highest concentration of active bicyclists in the County, there is an emerging bike culture forming. Reston embraced our first two road-diet projects which included bike lanes, and there is strong corporate and residential support to initiate bike sharing in Reston. Furthermore, the findings developed from conducting this study can assist other areas of the region in making sound decisions regarding bike sharing.”
Bruce Wright, Reston resident and chairman of Fairfax Advocates for Better Biking, says he envisions a bikeshare working here with stations at the Metro Silver Line stations at Wiehle Avenue and Reston Parkway, at Reston Town Center and the village centers. Also necessary, to get major employers such as Oracle, United States Geological Survey and others on board to incentive employees using bikeshare in Reston, he said.
The involvement of developers as Reston expands commercially and residentially is also key. Wright said Republic Land Development, which has been awarded the redevelopment of Crescent Apartments and the Lake Anne area, has offered recreational proffers for two bikeshare stations, which would cost $50,000-$70,000 each. Each bike station would house about 20 bikes, said Wright.
“[Bikeshare] is a crucial element in making Reston more transit-oriented and more urban,” says Wright. “If people decided to do it, pretty well situated in Reston to putting in bikeshare and making it easier for everyone. I think it is key going to be be huge in changing people’s minds about biking.”
The move to have a bikeshare system in Reston — the first such system in Fairfax County — got underway Wednesday with a meeting of principals who would like to see a network here.
About 25 stakeholders representing Reston, Fairfax County, developers, bike advocacy groups, Reston Town Center and Lake Anne Plaza met with representatives from Alta Planning & Design, the firm that developed Capital Bikeshare, said Bruce Wright, Reston resident and chairman of Fairfax Advocates for Better Biking. The next step will be a public meeting in Reston in January.
The meeting was the beginning of a feasibility study for a Reston bikeshare program. Last spring, Fairfax County applied for study funds from Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) Transportation/Land Use Connections (TLC) Technical Assistance Program.
The grant, which Wright says was under $100,000, will look at creative ways bikesharing can work in Reston, he said.
In its grant application, the county said Reston would be an ideal test case for a Fairfax County bikeshare:
“Reston area has the highest concentration of active bicyclists in the County, there is an emerging bike culture forming. Reston embraced our first two road-diet projects which included bike lanes, and there is strong corporate and residential support to initiate bike sharing in Reston. Furthermore, the findings developed from conducting this study can assist other areas of the region in making sound decisions regarding bike sharing.”
Wright said even though Reston is already connected on more than 55 miles of bike paths, there still would be some challenges to a bikeshare program. It would take different logistics than Arlington, which now has a bikeshare that can easily connected to D.C.’s Capital Bikeshare.
“Reston is really an island,” said Wright. “It is not connected to downtown and Arlington. It is going to take different logistics,”
Wright says he envisions a bikeshare working here with stations at the Metro Silver Line stations at Wiehle Avenue and Reston Parkway, at Reston Town Center and the village centers. Also necessary, to get major employers such as Oracle, United States Geological Survey and others on board to incentive employees using bikeshare in Reston, he said.
The involvement of developers as Reston expands commercially and residentially is also key. Wright said Republic Land Development, which has been awarded the redevelopment of Crescent Apartments and the Lake Anne area, has offered recreational proffers for two bikeshare stations, which would cost $50,000-$70,000 each. Each bike station would house about 20 bikes, said Wright.
“[Bikeshare] is a crucial element in making Reston more transit-oriented and more urban,” says Wright. “If people decided to do it, pretty well situated in Reston to putting in bikeshare and making it easier for everyone. I think it is key going to be be huge in changing people’s minds about biking.”
Photo of Capital Bikeshare at Pentagon City courtesy Mario Roberto Duran Ortiz
