Project peddles to bikers

Andrew Statten forced his bike through the clogged racks outside of Union Station looking for any strip of exposed metal to secure his ride.

“This is a bike-friendly city, but we’re always hard-up for open rack space,” said Mr. Statten, a 23-year-old George Washington University law student.

The California-based Bikestation company is attempting to help Mr. Statten and others trying to avoid increasing gas prices and reduce gridlock by commuting on a bicycle by opening a bicycle storage-maintenance-rental facility in Northwest.

Construction on the estimated $4 million project, between Union Station and the National Postal Museum, will begin in July and should be completed by spring 2009.

“We need more people biking here to reduce vehicle traffic and make getting around easy, so this is a good thing. We should always encourage clean transportation like this, ” said Kris Kremmerer, a 33-year-old Metro commuter from Chantilly.

Don Paine, an architect with KGB studios, which is designing the station, the first on the East Coast to combine storage and retail space, said the project will “complement its surroundings so it will be reflective and diminutive next to its neighbors.”

Cyclists using the station, which will be encased in glass and resemble the dome of a cycling helmet, will pay a daily or annual fee.

The company and bike stores around the region have seized upon the gas crisis and green movement, as the city attempts to expand its bicycle infrastructure.

“My commuter bikes are flying off the shelf faster than Honda Accord’s in the ‘80s,” said Steven Meyer, general manager of Revolution Cycles in Georgetown. He also said a lot of people walk into his shop looking to fully replace their vehicles with bicycles.

Right now, the city is working on an 8-mile-long Metropolitan Branch Trail that will link Silver Spring with Union Station along the Metro’s Red Line. The project was started 15 years ago, and is currently stalled near the New York Avenue/Florida Avenue/Gallaudet University stop due to conflicts between the city and the hired construction firm.

Opening phases of the project coincide with the start of Smartbike D.C., a citywide bicycle rental operation run by ClearChannel outdoor. Bike subscriptions will be opened to the public in a few days.

Bikestation officials and the District, which is helping with the project, hope the Union Station spot will be the first among the company’s four, in California and Chicago, to be profitable.

“We think the high traffic area and low rent provided by the district will make the station very successful,” said Andrea White, executive director of Bikestation.

A federal subsidy will pay for as much as 80 percent of construction costs, and the D.C. Department of Transportation will cover the remaining $800,000.

David Zacher, a 28-year-old federal employee from the District’s Logan Circle neighborhood has no problem with Bikestation receiving start-up money. “All transportation is subsidized, so why should bicycling be any different?” said Mr. Zacher, who has cycled to work for eight years.

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