As we did last year and the year before that, [broken links removed 8-25-2016] this post is going to take you down memory lane with some of the fun and exciting stuff that BikeArlington and Arlington County have been up to this year. So without further ado, here are our top 10 favorite topics from 2012 (in no particular order):

Capital Bikeshare

Those shiny red bikes have been busy this year, celebrating Capital Bikeshare’s second year of operation this past September. Specifically in Arlington, 22 new stations were added along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor bringing our total number of stations to 45. We also released the final version of our Transit Development Plan for Arlington’s portion of Capital Bikeshare, which includes details on plans to expand the system in Arlington over the next 6 years.

Bike to Work Day

Bike to Work Day, as always, is our biggest event of the year.  This year marked a milestone though – our pit stop in Rosslyn was number one in the whole region with a whopping 968 registered bikers coming through to bike to work.  If you missed out on the fun, check out our photos and video and make sure to sign up for next year’s festivities!

    

Business with The League

The League of American Bicyclists awarded 8 new Bike Friendly Businesses to the Arlington community this year bringing our total to a whopping 22 (including one Bike Friendly University)!  Check the list, maybe your organization is more bike friendly than you think!  The League also ran the very first National Bike Challenge which encouraged people to ride their bikes, log their miles, and possibly win sweet prizes between the months of May and August.  We’re not bragging or anything, but BikeArlington won first place for a Micro-Business.  

Education

This year we more than quadrupled the number of educational seminars and presentations that we put on in 2011.  We spread the joy of bicycling around the community through our educational programs like Two Wheel Tuesdays, Confident City Cycling, Wheels Wednesdays, Commuter Seminars and presentations at civic associations!  Look out for us next year, we may be coming to a library, community center, company lunch or school near you!

Be a PAL

We launched a new campaign to help keep Arlingtonians safe when they’re using the road whether they’re on two feet, two wheels or four wheels.  Being Predictable, Alert and Lawful, or being a PAL, will keep you and others safe while you share the streets with different road users.

Our Favorite Events:

Gosh, where do we start? We were busy this year. Check out our photos from (in no particular order): Lights For Bikes, Arlington County Fun Ride, BikeDC: The Washington DC and Arlington County Community Bike Ride, Arlington County Fair, Crystal City Diamond Derby, Clarendon Mardi Gras Parade, Tim Johnsons Ride on Washington, Bike to School Day, 55+ Biking Club Group Ride, and Walk & Bike to School Day! 

The Arlington County Bike Map

160,000 copies printed and distributed. Yes, you read that correctly–a bike map in every house hold in Arlington? How’d we manage that? Well, back in January a brand new 2012 edition map was included in the Citizen Newsletter which is sent out to all residents. What?  You didn’t get one? Order one here and have it mailed to you for FREE!

The DES Transportation Department

The Department of Environmental Services has been hard at work making things easier for people to get around by bike. A few more miles of regular bikes lanes were added to the County bike network and some existing lanes got a super boost with a sharp looking coat of green paint.  The planners and engineers got extra creative and added the County’s first Buffered Bike Lanes along Wilson Blvd and the Joyce Street underpass under I-395 got a major face-lift with a nice wide sidewalk for cyclists and pedestrians. This brings our total numbers up to 50 miles of shared-use off-street trails, 36 miles of bike lanes and sharrows and 78 miles of recommended on-street routes. Not bad for a county that’s only 26 square miles!

Bike Counters

Did someone say bike counters? Yeah, we got you covered. In fact, we’ve got the whole county covered! Arlington planners lead the nation in collecting data on trail use by bikes and pedestrians.  In some locations we’ve been collecting data since 2008.  With the latest rounds of installation, Arlington is even getting bike lane data in select spots.  Read more about the Bicycles and Pedestrian Documentation Project here.

 

 

Social Media and The Washington Area Bike Forum

 

As the year comes to a close, our Twitter followers total almost 2,000 and our Facebook likes are nearing the 1,000 mark!  It’s been great connecting with so many interested cyclists in the region online this year. Speaking of connecting with the community, the Washington Area Bike Forum continues to grow by leaps and bounds. Google Analytics tells us that in 2012, the Forum served up almost 200,000 visits by more than 80,000 unique visitors who viewed more than 1.2 million pages with an average visit duration of almost 8 minutes each. Now that’s an engaged community!  And if you’re not part of our Email Newsletter list, be sure to sign up, so that you can stay up to date on hot topics and cycling events happening in Arlington and beyond.

So have a wonderful holiday season…

…and we’ll leave you with a haiku about a bicycle and the fun photo below.  See you in the bike lane!