That headline is a little misleading—due to a quarrel between Clear Channel, the administrators of the SmartBike bike-sharing program, and the City, it’s unlikely that Georgetown will get a SmartBike station any time soon.

Nonetheless, two House Republicans,  Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), are saying that the very idea of providing Georgetown residents with free bicycles was one of the “11 worst pork-barrel projects of the 111th Congress,” according to Fox News.

Kirk and Price don’t have all their facts straight—they allege that the stimulus provided Georgetown with $3 million in funding for bicycle racks, when in fact Georgetown was merely named as one of 40 new SmartBike locations in a $3 million dollar expansion of the program (and the bike racks came with actual bikes)—but something tells me we would have made their worst-of list either way.

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) railed against bikes for wealthy Georgetown residents back in March, too, at which time the League of American Bicyclists made an argument for considering bike funding as a “stimulus project.”

What else made this list? “$550,000 for a skateboard park in Pawtucket, R.I.,” “$3.8 million for an urban art trail in Rochester, N.Y.,” and “$500,000 for fish food in Missouri, to help defray the costs for state fish farmers.”

Photo from Flickr user M “Annie” Gaddis.

The scene at the accident

Several blogs are reporting that on Monday night, a taxi cab struck a cyclist at the intersection of 31st and M Streets in Georgetown, badly injuring the cyclist. WashCycle has an account from someone who came across the aftermath of the accident, when the cyclist was being loaded into an ambulance on a backboard. The latecomer said he or she spoke to an eyewitness who the police had interviewed about the crash:

[The eyewitness said it] was a head on collision between 6:00 and 6:15 tonight. It was well after sundown and dark. Cyclist was eastbound on M Street in the eastbound lanes. Cab was pointed westbound in the eastbound lanes.

Grill was broken in, windshield shattered, hood dented and roof dented. Bike was on the cab’s passenger side pointing west. Witness told me the cab had come to a stop before impact so where the cab was stopped was where the impact was. Witness couldn’t say for sure if cyclist had green, red or yellow light.

The Metropolitan Police Department confirmed for Vox last night that an accident took place at 31st and M, but per their policy, could not give out any information about the accident over the phone.

Via Georgetown Metropolitan

I bet this bike wasn’t registered…

The Department of Public Safety’s bike registration program was introduced in March in with some very noble goals: to help DPS more effectively manage the number of bikes on campus, to make it easier for police to return stolen bikes to their owners, and to deter criminals from stealing bikes in the first place.

Unfortunately, the student response has been pretty underwhelming: a grand total of 20 bikes have been registered and 12 bike locks have been sold through the program since June, according to Associate Director of DPS Joseph Smith.

Smith wrote in an e-mail that the tepid response to the program limits its effectiveness.

It’s too early into the academic year to say how much impact the program has had on theft, but with only 20 students registering their bikes thus far I think it would be safe to conjecture that the program would be a lot more effective if we had greater participation from the students.

Smith said he wasn’t sure making the program mandatory would be a good idea, and that he thought more voluntary participation would be preferable.

Photo from Flickr user Mr. Spinch, used under a Creative Commons license.

When the District Department of Transportation announced in March that SmartBike (the ride-sharing program that began last August) was set to expand to Georgetown this summer, we were pretty pumped.  Turns out the future of Georgetown bike-sharing isn’t quite so bright, though.

According to the Georgetown Metropolitan, Clear Channel, who agreed to run the program in exchange for control over the advertising in new D.C. bus shelters, isn’t being terribly cooperative.  Since they’ve already got their advertising rights shored up, they’re unwilling to add new bike stations.

GM thinks D.C. might have to cut the cord with Clear Channel and find another more accommodating company to run the program.  Either way, looks like this summer’s projected expansion isn’t gonna happen…

Photo from Flickr user Mr. T in DC, used under a Creative Commons license.

In Voice News today, Crime Prevention Coordinator Joseph Smith revealed the launch date for the long-awaited RAD program, next September. He also mentioned a bike registration program, which launched this past Monday. Below are more details on each.

The optional bike registry program is designed to combat what Smith says is chronic bike theft on campus. Students can tote their bicycles into the DPS office on the ground floor of VWC to register their wheels, but if that’s just too awkward for you, look for DPS at “upcoming campus events” and beginning-of-the-year events in the fall, such as orientation.

And as we reported in February, DPS lacked the $900 necessary for the training suits they would need for the RAD program, which initially held up the program. The money will be enough to buy four $225 training suits. Four instructors will initially support 30 program participants.

The Ed Board recently gave props to DPS for subsidizing the cost of bike locks, which is awesome. But what’s better than a cheap way to keep your bike safe? A free way to keep yourself safe while you’re on your bike. The Washington Area Bicyclist Association is giving away free bike lights this afternoon at 4:30 at the corner of 18th Street and Columbia Road and the corner of 16th Street and Park Road (you have to bring your bike with you to get one.)

Since the majority of your waking hours are going to be spent in the dark when daylight savings ends in a couple weeks, a light is key if you’re going to be biking around Georgetown this fall and winter. Why pay for one?

Via City Desk.

In the Voice this past week, the Editorial Board recommended that cyclists buy a u-lock to keep their bikes safe from theft. Simple enough, right? An item in the GW crime log reminds us of one piece of advice that we neglected to include in the ed: when using a bike lock, be sure to use it to, you know, lock up your bike (ellipsis mine, for comedic timing).

Theft 10/9/08 – Public property on campus – case closed
An individual secured the front tire of a bicycle to a lamppost and left. When the individual returned, the complainant told UPD the bike was missing except for [...] the front tire. No suspects or witnesses.

In another bit of GW crime log hilarity, we find out what happens when you gotta go.

Read the rest of this entry »

The riverfront pathway in Georgetown is a great place for bikers – unless you are a pedestrian. The other day I had planned on taking a leisurely walk along the Potomac from Georgetown University to the Kennedy Center. Bikers changed my walk from a leisurely stroll to a live-action Frogger.I did not always notice the bikers headed my way, but luckily my reflexes were fast enough to allow me to make a mad dash out of the way when I was told to “watch out!” An elderly woman watching the boats go by or a child-toting parent may not be so fortunate if they were to get caught in this situation.

Some cities have separate paths for bikers and pedestrians in their parks. Now that the SmartBike program is adding to biker traffic in DC (and text messaging and emailing are taking our eyes off the road), separate paths may be an idea to consider. Or at least tell the bikers to bling up their bike with a bell.

Photo from Flickr user wallyg used under a Creative Commons license

No matter how you feel about Smartbike DC, the bike sharing program that launched today, it’s hard to argue that the bikes look good. The big rear wheel cover, the mundane star logo, and the red metal make its rider look more like a tourist on an bike tour of the city than a frugal, environmentally-aware commuter.

But do bikes in these sort of programs always have to look ugly? After the jump, one bike affirms the resolution and five negate.

Read the rest of this entry »

At last, DC’s SmartBike bikesharing program is launching today, and our tired legs and lungs couldn’t be happier. Still, it’s already running into problems–the availability map reveals six of the ten locations already have all their bikes checked out.

Wayan at We Love DC doesn’t think much of the program, dubbing it “Dorkbike”. Hardly! Those rear wheel covers aren’t good-looking, and helmets should be provided, but this program will be a good thing for DC that gets even better as more stations (Georgetown!) are added.

Photo from Flickr user Joe in DC used under a Creative Commons license