Converting trips to Metro stations from car to bike/walk trips

In recent years WMATA has improved bike parking at many of their stations. However, bike/ped access to the stations from surrounding areas has not often been a high priority. That is changing. From the PlanIt Metro blog:

In our effort to improve safety, access and sustainability, Metro is expanding our understanding of bike and pedestrian barriers faced in commuting to our Metrorail stations. Over the past several years, we have focused our bike and pedestrian project planning and implementation efforts on improvements we can make to our station areas such as, installing bike racks or constructing pedestrian improvements. Now, we’d like to expand the envelope and develop a list of access needs beyond our own boundaries and work with our jurisdictional partners to make needed improvements.

Heat map showing short-distance parking access
at Forest Glen station, which indicates
good opportunities for pedestrian and
bicycle access (click for full map)

One way we are doing this is by gaining a better understanding of where auto commuters come from when they drive to our stations, and zeroing in on areas where we see a good deal of auto access to determine if there are barriers to walking or biking to the station.

The map at right (full version) shows auto-to-station “hot spots” around the Forest Glen station, to pick one example, locations from which clusters of customers drive and park at Metro. According to the 2007 Metrorail Passenger Survey data, many customers drive from within a 1-3 mile radius; some are even closer. So why are so many people from this area driving? In our 2010 Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, we teased out some of the more broad-based reasons why people drive rather than walk or bike – now we’d like to explore each station’s local conditions and see what can be done to improve walk and bike access.

WMATA releases 2012 bike parking survey data

WMATA just released 2012 data on bike parking at Metro stations across the region. Vienna was third in two categories, Total Bikes Parked and Greatest Rack Capacity. Franconia-Springfield has the fourth most Total Bikes Parked but there's a definite shortage of racks at the Franconia-Springfield VRE entrance, with 35 bikes parked, 19 of which are not parked in racks.

WMATA has been doing a good job recently of adding bike parking capacity.

These counts show that we are moving in the right direction, but more work remains. We generally have enough bike parking capacity at nearly all stations, but not all stations see equal usage. One missing piece could be bike-friendly infrastructure around the stations to allow bike-to-rail customers to comfortably and safely access stations. So, we’ll work with our jurisdictions to improve paths, crossings, and other infrastructure outside Metro’s immediate property. But you tell us – what do you see as obstacles to biking to your Metrorail station?

Here is a summary of the overall findings:

• Bike parking usage in 2012 is up 3% from last year
• Bike parking capacity is up significantly, thanks to newly-installed bike racks near Metrorail station, including racks with capacity for over 300 installed by Metro staff.
• Now, 85 of 86 stations (all but Arlington Cemetery) have bike racks available.
• We now count over 4,000 bike parking spaces near Metrorail stations.
• Many stations where we recently added new racks saw some uptick in usage (e.g., Braddock Road 19% increase in usage, Takoma 24%, West Hyattsville 13%) over last year, but some did not.Generally, there may be enough year-to-year variability with these "snapshot" data that it can be difficult to identify detailed trends.
• Parking near downtown stations may have declined somewhat versus last year.This might be one impact of Capital Bikeshare.
• We found six stations where total bikes parked exceeded 100% of rack capacity.Metro staff will take action at these stations where we can, but in other situations where we do not own the land or the racks, we will work actively with our station-area partners.
• Twenty-five stations had at least 3 bikes secured/locked to things other than racks.Securing a bike to a railing can obstruct those who need the railing — or can block an accessible path — and is strongly discouraged or even illegal in some jurisdictions. Securing a bike to a tree can damage or kill it. At station areas where cyclists are securing bikes to objects other than racks because of inadequate bike parking capacity, Metro staff will take action to increase capacity where it can.

Petition to repeal Metro's ban on bikes during rush hour

Bicycles are not allowed on Metro during rush hour. While most trains are very crowded during this period, but many are not, especially reverse commute trains. Not being able to use Metro during the time when many of us travel is a real disincentive to using bikes for those last mile trips to and from Metro, especially with the high theft rates at Metro stations.

A petition is now available on Change.org to "Repeal the ban on bikes/ bicycles on the Metro during rush hour." Other transit systems have figured out how to accommodate bikes on their train systems during rush hour.

The operators of the Los Angeles system have developed a set of rules that apply to bicyclists to accommodate them during rush hour and all other times. The main rule covers the major objection to bikes on Metro during rush hour: "If an arriving train is full, please wait for the next train. Never force your bike into a crowded train." The LA Bike Metro site provides lots of great info for cyclists. It's an example for others.

As an aside, I learned about being able to take bikes on the LA Metro systems while reading the excellent interview with actor Ed Begley Jr. in Bicycle Times. Ed uses his bike for most trips around the city. He extends his range using Metro buses and trains. Unfortunately I couldn't find the interview online. See our blog post about riding with Ed when he was in town a few years ago.

WMATA's planned bike and ped projects

WMATA recently released the report Metro: Pedestrian and Bicycle Element of the 2012-2017 Capital Improvement Program. The report outlines needed bicycle and pedestrian improvements around Metro stations. See the PlanItMetro blog entry Identifying & Funding Pedestrian and Bicycle Project Needs

WMATA has been very proactive recently in addressing the need for better bike access and parking at Metro stations. They added several new racks at the Vienna Metro station in November, installed a Bike & Ride facility at College Park and are planning a Bike & Ride facility at Franconia-Springfield. 

From the report:

In 2008, Congress passed legislation authorizing up to $1.5 billion in federal funds for Metro’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) over ten years. These funds are equally matched by Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia for a total of $3 billion over 10 years, or $300 million per year. One key provision is that 1% of these capital dollars must go to transit enhancements, which include pedestrian and bicycle improvements as well as bus shelters, landscaping/ beautification, public art, signage and improved access for persons with disabilities. This requirement provides a vehicle for funding bicycle and pedestrian access to Metro.

This document summarizes the bicycle and pedestrian element of Metro’s 2012-2017 CIP, detailing funding availability and project descriptions. Currently, $6.6 million is available in funding for bike and pedestrian access over the next five years of the CIP. This allocation is based on current available funding and priorities.

New bike racks at Vienna Metro station

The Vienna Metro station is a popular destination for many Metro patrons. We were pleased to hear recently that WMATA has installed 32 new inverted U racks at the station. From the PlanItMetro blog:

Last week, Metro installed 32 new “U-Rack” bicycle racks at Vienna station, providing parking space for 64 additional bicyclists, nearly doubling bike parking capacity. The new racks are located on the south side of the station, in the direction of the parking garage. The installation is the latest in Metro’s overall Bicycle and Pedestrian Capital Improvement Program.

Vienna’s bike racks were often full, even overflowing, causing cyclists to lock their bikes on railings, trees, and lamp posts. In our last bike parking census, Vienna was the single most capacity-constrained station for bicycle parking. Last spring, we counted 96 total bikes at the station, with 30 bikes tied to objects other than racks.

With new space for 64 bicycles, we have almost doubled our bike rack capacity at the station, and will hopefully encourage even more bike-to-rail access here.

Public hearing on cycletrack on Herndon Parkway

The Town of Herndon Town Council will hold a Public Hearing on the draft Metrorail Area Plan. The plan includes cycle tracks on Herndon Parkway. The plan was approved by the Herndon Planning Commission on Oct. 3.

The meeting is on Tuesday, October 25th at 7:00 p.m., Ingram Council Chambers, 765 Lynn Street. Cyclists are encouraged to support the cycletrack plan. You can also submit comments online.

WMATA counts bikes and racks at Metro stations

WMATA recently conducted a bike and rack count at all Metro stations. The Vienna station racks were full (blue color in far left circle), with overflow bikes (orange color)  parked to any fixed object. Let's  hope this leads to more U racks at the Vienna station.

According to WMATA, they "counted bikes and racks at rail stations over a six-week window of peak usage from May 1 to June 15 for a “bike parking census.”  Each station was counted on a sunny, warm day typically between 9:30am and 3:00pm. We wanted to learn about the general availability of and demand for bike parking in station areas. For these counts, we specifically excluded bike lockers and the Union Station Bikestation, and focused just on racks. We wanted to know how easy it would be for a new bike-to-rail customer to easily find bike parking near a station.  We counted each U-Rack as space for 2 bikes, and used our best judgment for wave, grid, post-and-ring, and other racks.

Overall Findings

• 84 of our 86  stations have bicycle racks (all but Arlington Cemetery and Stadium-Armory)


• Bike-to-rail access seems to be up significantly over the last 5 years


• There is space to park 3,540 bicycles near Metrorail stations, and we saw 2,196 parked bicycles total


• Supply is not always matched to demand at a station-by-station level. Some stations are at or above capacity today, and additional bike-to-rail customers would be unable to find legitimate bicycle parking.  Other stations have plenty of underused space. Racks at some stations are not aligned with demand – they have unused capacity on one side of the station, but overflowing racks on the other side.


• Stations where total bikes parked exceeded 100% of rack capacity: 12


• Even though a station may show some “empty spaces,” the racks may still be crowded enough that an average bicyclist would call the rack “full” in all practicality.


• Stations where we observed at least 3 bikes tied to things other than racks: 26

Making Reston Metro station areas less pedestrian and bike friendly

Fairfax County DOT recently presented the results of a traffic mitigation study conducted by Cambridge Systematics. According to the Fairfax Times article Reston rail panel focuses gaze on traffic mitigation, "Discussion focused on possible improvements to five intersections: Wiehle Avenue and Sunrise Valley Drive; Wiehle Avenue and Sunset Hills Road; Reston Parkway and Sunrise Valley Drive; Reston Parkway and Sunset Hills; and Fairfax County Parkway and Sunrise Valley."

The planned improvements call for several "free turn lanes" where motorists can turn right without stopping. An example is the southbound lane on Wiehle Ave at the the Sunrise Valley Dr intersection. Motorists rarely stop for pedestrians at this location, which is a adjacent to the future rail station entrance. A second free turn lane for westbound Sunrise Valley Dr traffic is being recommended at this intersection. If implemented it would be nearly impossible for pedestrians and cyclists who are on the adjacent sidepath to cross Wiehle Ave. These are definitely not improvements for pedestrians and cyclists.

A similar treatment is proposed for the Wiehle Ave/Sunset Hills intersection which is adjacent to the northern station entrance. At one time this location was the site of the highest number of ped/bike crashes in the county. Cambridge is proposing a free eastbound turn lane for Sunset Hills traffic.

The W&OD Trail is nearby and there's a major paved trail along Wiehle Ave that will be used by many pedestrians and bicyclists when the station opens. Eastbound traffic now barely stops and we've had many, many close calls from motorists looking left and turning right on red, despite signs prohibiting that behavior. A while back we took a 30-second video of vehicle behavior at this light when it was red, showing that almost none of the vehicles actually came to a stop. It's doubtful that this behavior was factored into the analysis.

Instead of making conditions worse for pedestrians and bicyclists, the opposite should be happening. We discussed these intersection changes with FFX DOT staff and they are well aware of the negative consequences of these recommendations on non-motorized travel. At some point the community has to decide whether it's more important to move cars or move people, especially around Metro stations that are planned as mixed use areas.

The Reston Master Plan Special Study Task Force will likely discuss this topic at their next meeting on Tuesday, September 13th, at 7pm at the Lake Anne Community Center.

See the Dulles Corridor Special Study Transportation Analysis Update and Mitigation Strategies Discussion presentation.

Bike lockers at Metro stations available

If you've always wanted to rent a bike locker at Fairfax Metro station, now is a good time to rent one. What's the catch? WMATA raised the fees from $70 to $200 last July and now there are more empty lockers than before the increase. According to a good post on GGW about the lockers, at the Vienna and Dunn Loring stations 50% of the lockers sit empty. Forty-five percent of the West Falls Church lockers are empty. Lockers at the Huntington station are 100% filled, which is only true at two stations in the system. Twenty percent of the lockers are available at Franconia-Springfield.