More people are walking to Metrorail stations instead of driving and parking at the system’s lots, which is pushing the transit agency to find ways to improve access for pedestrians.
The transit agency also has seen a surge in the number of cyclists riding to the stations.
To keep those numbers growing, Metro is planning to begin a new study to identify and plug the gaps in walking and biking access within a half-mile of each rail station. Making those changes would be cheaper than having to build more parking lots, Metro spokeswoman Angela Gates said.
“We definitely see it as a low-cost way to increase capacity and handle more people,” Gates said.
In 2002, Metrorail’s Park & Ride lots were the most popular option for riders heading to Metrorail stations, with 69,995 peak morning trips reported. Walking followed as the second-most popular way of getting to the subway, with 66,432 trips.
But in 2007, the number of riders using the parking lots during the morning rush dropped 1 percent, according to Metro, while walking rose 18 percent to take the top spot, with about one-third of riders.
The number of cyclists grew proportionately more, rising 60 percent from 969 during the morning commute to 1,550. Bikers represented less than 1 percent of morning rush riders, though.
Those increases came well before the record gasoline prices of last summer persuaded many commuters to ditch their cars. Metro officials said they believed the numbers have grown since then.
Christopher Zimmerman, a Metro board member who represents Arlington, said the increases made sense. Development has boomed around Metrorail stations, giving more people the option of walking to stations.
At the same time, the system’s parking lots have a fixed number of spaces. Many fill up before the morning rush finishes, forcing transit riders to find other ways to get to the stations.
The study will consider such options as adding bike cages to parking garages that can be entered only by cyclists with key swipe cards. The agency has proposed spending $45 million in bike and pedestrian improvements between 2011 and 2020.
