Officials in Alexandria and College Park hope to become the next locations to expand the popular Capital Bikeshare program. College Park could become the first city in Maryland to use the program, which operates in the District and Arlington and allows riders to rent bikes at one location and leave them at another. But officials are still searching for funds to implement a two-year trial program, with plans for single stations in three locations: the College Park Metro station, downtown College Park along Route 1 and the Hollywood commercial district near the Capital Beltway.
After two failed attempts at securing federal grants, officials now want to apply for a $66,000 grant from the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority, but still would need more funds — the program would cost $136,000 to operate for two years, according to city planner Elisa Vitale.
An initial pilot program in Alexandria would install four to six stations around Old Town, the King Street Metro station and Carlyle. It would cost about $400,000 to implement, which officials say they have received through state transportation grants.
The program costs cyclists various amounts depending on how they you travel, and riders can sign up for memberships lasting anywhere from 24 hours to a year.
Alexandria’s program may find more success than College Park’s because Alexandria plans to place its stations closer together than College Park.
For Capital Bikeshare to be convenient enough for riders to use, stations must be placed in tight clusters, according to Paul DeMaio, a consultant to the Arlington portion of Capital Bikeshare.
“It’ll be important to keep the stations close together, roughly every two to three blocks apart,” DeMaio said. “It needs to be looked at just like a new bus system, where people need to jump off every few blocks.”
In College Park, two stations near Metro would be close together, but the Hollywood station could be about three miles away. More stations around the University of Maryland could provide more options — the school has been pursuing the Bikeshare program as well.
