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Posts tagged "Washington D.C."

StreetFilms Tuesday, April 17, 2012
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Active Living For All Ages: Creating Neighborhoods Around Transit

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Streetfilms teamed up with the Public Policy Institute at AARP to bring you a look at how Arlington, Virginia plans for its senior population using transit-oriented development (TOD).  Arlington has been practicing TOD since the late 1970s, when Washington's Metrorail first began service there, and it's proved very effective in accommodating the population growth of this inner suburb.

TOD helps older adults maintain their independence by providing good pedestrian access to a variety of public transit options, entertainment and recreation, and basic services such as shopping and health care.  As Rodney Harrell, senior strategic policy advisor at AARP's Public Policy Institute points out, "When you plan for older adults, you plan for the entire community."

Learn more about the Public Policy Institute's Livable Communities initiatives.

StreetFilms Wednesday, March 7, 2012
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From the Netherlands to America: Translating the World’s Best Bikeway Designs

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The Netherlands is widely recognized for having the highest cycling rates in the world. What's not so well known is that the Dutch don't bike so much because cycling is in their DNA. They do it because after the country started down the path toward car dependence, they made a conscious decision to change course. After many decades of deliberate policy to invest in cycling as a mode of transportation, the Netherlands has the most advanced bike infrastructure you'll ever see.

Recenty Streetfilms joined a group of city leaders from Chicago, Washington, DC and Miami on a study tour of the Netherlands, through the Bikes Belong Foundation's Bicycling Design Best Practices Program. The program shows American transportation professionals and policy makers real life examples of what it looks like to invest in cost-effective bicycle facilities. This video takes you on a tour of the incredibly well thought out street designs in the Netherlands. You'll see the infrastructure, hear from the experts on the ground, and watch the tour participants react and imagine how they might implement similar designs in American cities
StreetFilms Tuesday, August 2, 2011
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The Phenomenal Success of Capital Bikeshare

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Nearly three years ago Streetfilms took a day trip to Washington, D.C. to see their Smart Bike DC  in action.  We found the trial bike share system a fun ride with great potential, but with only 120 bikes there wasn't a great sense of widespread use.

Flashforward to 2011 and with over 1100 bicycles and 110 stations D.C.'s Capital Bikeshare's is amazing testament to having to "go big or go home" when deploying bike share programs.  Currently the largest bike share system in the United States, the District's 2.0 version gives users much more flexibility and options to accomplish short errands, commute to work, and to integrate other transit modes into their daily lives.

In fact, the next phase of expansion has just been announced, with 18 more stations and 265 more bikes coming this Fall.

The handsome red bikes are easy to ride, with one swipe of a keycard you're off and biking. During the am and pm commutes (and lunch hours) you'll see the bikes in very heavy rotation.  But what left Streetfilms most flabbergasted was how many people were riding them in full business attire in the hot & humid summers around the Capital. If that isn't a sign of success, what is?

Streetfilms would like to thank the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) for partnering with us on this project.

 

StreetFilms Saturday, March 12, 2011
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National Bike Summit 2011: Congressional Bike Ride (for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords)

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This year's League of American Bicyclists (LAB) National Bike Summit built on the massive momentum nationwide for the demand for better, safer cycling in the U.S. On Friday's the LAB's Congressional Bike Ride was held in support of Rep. Gabrielle "Gabby" Giffords and this year's was the largest ever in LAB history.  At the beginning of the ride, Executive Director, Andy Clarke, held a moment of silence for all the victims of the Tuscon shootings and riders wore flags, pins and bracelets in their honor.

The 10-mile course featured the latest in what the DC area can boast in primo cycling facilities including the fabulous, physically separated bike lanes on Pennsylvania & 15th Streets. The ride also breezed past many DC Bike Share stations. We chatted with participants about "Gabby", the Bike Summit, and their experience over the week.

StreetFilms Tuesday, March 1, 2011
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MBA: Car Sharing

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In the third episode of Moving Beyond the Automobile, we take a look at a more efficient way to use a car.  Car sharing allows users to evaluate the full cost of each car trip, which encourages them to decide what the most appropriate mode choice is for a specific trip. 

Zipcar, a leading global car sharing organization, reports that members walk and bike 10-15% more than they did before joining Zipcar.  They also report that members save $600 a month when they choose car sharing over owning a private automobile.

So while car sharing isn't exactly "Moving Beyond the Automobile," it is a great way for cities and individuals to help make the transportation network more efficient and become less dependent on owning a private cars.

(Note: This series is made possible by funding from the Fund for The Environment & Urban Life.)

StreetFilms Thursday, February 17, 2011
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The Case for Bike Racks on NYC Buses

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Over the last ten years (or more) just about every major city in the U.S. has added bike-carrying capacity to their buses. While cities like Chicago, Las Vegas, Kansas City, Seattle, Philadelphia, and San Francisco can boast 100% of their bus fleet sporting bike racks, NYC comes in at 0% - the only one in The Alliance for Biking & Walking's 2010 Benchmarking report.

This probably comes as no surprise to any cyclist from NYC who travels an ample amount, but what is shocking is this fact quietly goes unmentioned in NYC. We cannot recall a single news story or push to get bike racks anywhere in the last ten years.

Of course, there are reasonable assumptions one can make why NYC has not tried out some program. First and foremost: the NYC MTA subway system already allows bikes 24 hours a day.  It's an excellent benefit for sure, but there are many regions of the five boroughs that are not easily within reach of a train. If we want to encourage multi-modalism, we need seriously think about that.

Then there is a barrage of others: cyclists will be too slow to load, bikes might fall off the racks, cost, maintenance, etc, but after viewing our Streetfilm you'll see there really isn't a valid excuse not to.

So we think it's time that the MTA and the city to consider a few pilot programs to put some bike racks on some routes. Of course, we are not talking about places like Manhattan or most parts of Brooklyn but we feel there are some great candidates that would yield good results.  Look here:

  • Anywhere in Staten Island.
  • Eastern Queens.
  • Parts of The Bronx.
  • Any buses that cross bridges without cycle paths including the Verrazano-Narrows, The Whitestone and The Throggs Neck bridges.
StreetFilms Friday, April 23, 2010
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Students Take Action to Save Their MetroCards

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New York City high school students traveled with community groups to Washington, D.C. to talk to lawmakers about how losing the free Student MetroCard would negatively impact their communities.  They urged representatives to support a bill that would provide more federal funding for public transportation.

StreetFilms Tuesday, March 23, 2010
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The Capital’s Colossal Contraflow Cycle Track

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While we were down in Washington, DC for the National Bike Summit, Streetfilms got the chance to check out some of the innovative bike infrastructure.
Tops on our list: the city's first protected, contraflow lane for bicyclists. The district DOT has redesigned 15th Street NW between U Street and Massachusetts Avenue to accommodate two-way bike traffic on a one-way street. Northbound cyclists get a shared lane moving in the same direction as car traffic, and southbound cyclists ride in a parking-protected lane. The treatment has also slimmed down the street, removing a vehicle lane and calming traffic.
DC transportation officials say that when designing this protected bike lane, they looked to New York and Montreal for inspiration. Additional use of contraflow lanes could help make critical new connections in New York's bike network, like the gap between Park Slope and Fort Greene that Brooklyn CB 2 recently asked DOT to take a look at. Although not captured in the video DC has just finished a lower tech contraflow lane on Champlain Street in Adams Morgan (See images below). So hopefully some of that inspiration will flow back up the Acela corridor to NYC.
champlain 1champlain 2
StreetFilms Monday, March 15, 2010
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Voices From The National Bike Summit 2010

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Last week, hundreds of bike advocates descended on Washington D.C. for the tenth annual National Bike Summit -- the largest one yet. Hosted by the League of American Bicyclists, the summit is always a great opportunity for advocates to share ideas and make the case for cycling on Capitol Hill. This year attendees encouraged their senators and representatives to sign on to several key pieces of legislation, including the Active Community Transportation Act, Safe Routes to School Act, and the Urban Revitalization and Livable Communities Act.

Streetfilms attended the summit and had the chance to talk to several participants. Check out this wrap-up for insight into some of the big bicycle initiatives happening around the country. You'll hear from conference host Andy Clarke, Representative Earl Blumenauer, Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, the FTA's Peter Rogoff, and more.

StreetFilms Thursday, July 2, 2009
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D.C.’s DOT Director talks “Transportation Freedom”

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Meet Gabe Klein who was appointed new director of Washington D.C.'s Department of Transportation (DDOT) in December 2008.  With an interesting background which includes four years working for Zipcar, Mr. Klein was brought in with the idea of looking at the job from a fresh perspective (check out: Potholepalooza!) and innovating solutions to many mobility problems D.C. faces.  Right off the bat, you'll love a lot of what he has to say:

"Cars are a part of our daily life here in D.C. ...but what we want to do is try to equalize the playing field.  Encourage people to walk, to bike, to bike share; or instead of owning a car - car share."

Washington D.C. already has one of the lowest household car-ownership percentages of any major U.S. city, so actively promoting these modes is essential to helping its citizens move about with - as Mr Klein points out - "freedom".

StreetFilms Tuesday, May 26, 2009
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Meet Veronica Moss, A.U.T.O. Lobbyist

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Ever wonder what folks working for sustainable transportation at the federal level are up against on K Street? For this Streetfilms exclusive event, we were granted unfettered access to Veronica Moss, lobbyist for Automobile Users Trade Organization (AUTO). Veronica gave us a few precious moments inside her SUV to talk about roads, traffic, cyclists, and big cities. After instructing us on proper honking techniques for "old people" and children, she also offered up some choice bons mots. Here's a sample:

"People need to be able to drive their cars - that's an American right!"

"Bikers are a pimple on the butt of any city."

If you love Veronica, make sure to check out our mockumentary on The Search for the Zozo, where she also makes an appearance.

UPDATE:  3/29/2012  And congratulations to Kate McKinnon for being added to the cast of SNL!  She was so good as Veronica Moss.  SNL could not have picked a funnier gal!

StreetFilms Friday, August 22, 2008
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D.C. Launches Bike-Sharing Program

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Last week the first North American public bike-share program debuted in Washington D.C. With 120 bikes at 10 self-service racks, SmartBike DC officially launched. This week the Streetfilms team took it for a spin.

Here are some helpful facts about SmartBike DC:

  • To use this bike-share program you must become a member for an annual fee of $40 and have your membership card.
  • Locks & Helmets are not provided so bring your own.
  • Each trip has a 3 hour limit, but you can park at a station and take out another bike for no fee or penalty.
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