As 2013 comes to a close, we at BikeArlington want to share a few of our favorite bike related accomplishments from around Arlington this year. There was a little bit of everything going on–from locally grown bike culture events with a focus on kids and female riders to some exciting infrastructure projects. So without further ado, here’s our top 10 from 2013!

1 – Bikeswell – We filmed for over a year with Gripped Films to produce a 30 minute “bike-umentary” on Arlington’s journey to become a premier bike friendly community.  The films world wide opening received a standing ovation from a packed house at the Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse. You can now watch the entire film on YouTube!

2 – Veitch Street Bike Box – Arlington County got it’s very first Bike Box in July and it was painted bright green a little later in the fall. Expect to see more green paint and innovative infrastructure projects around Arlington in the coming months and years. (What’s a bike box? Find out more on our Facilities page.)

3. PAL Campaign Spreading Through The County – We started the P.A.L. campaign (all street users, regardless of mode, should be Predictable, Alert, and Lawful) a couple years ago and it has continued to grow.  This past year Arlington Transit held a contest with Middle School and High School students in which kids submitted artwork for a new ART bus wrap. 

4. Schools! We worked alongside WalkArlington to put on Bike & Walk to School Day in the Spring and Walk & Bike to School Day in the Fall. For these events, we were thrilled that we had 100% participation in the international event from all of the public schools in Arlington. What’s even better is that we hope to keep this momentum going now that Arlington Public Schools also hired a Safe Routes to School Coordinator!

5 – Kidical Mass Arlington – Family biking in Arlington has taken off with a series of casual family bike rides that are slow paced and fun for kids of all ages.  We’ve been cheering from the side lines as a local Mom has taken the Kidical Mass model and really turned it into a great group.  Most rides have a theme and have attracted up to 50 riders! There is even a Holiday Lights/Resolutions Ride planned for January 1st!

6 – Wayfinding Signs – Little green signs have been popping up all over the the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor this year to help people on bike and on foot navigate the trail system.  Eventually you can expect to see more of these all throughout the county!

7 – Bike to Work Day – Bike to Work Day is the biggest one day bike event in the region!  This year participation at the more than 70 regional pit stops almost topped 15,000 attendees! Arlington always has a strong showing with pit stops in Rosslyn, Ballston, Crystal City and a new afternoon stop in East Falls Church. Rosslyn again had the highest number of registrants–check out photos from the day.  Word on the street is that there will be a new Columbia Pike stop in 2014!

8 – Zen Around The City – Women and biking has been one of the biggest focuses for bike groups in 2013. Nationally, the League of American Bicyclists put on the Women’s Bicycling Forum, regionally WABA officially got their Women & Bicycles program rolling and on the local level, BikeArlington put on our own women’s event. Zen Around the City, with a dash of yoga added for extra fun, was a sold out success with 100 women attending.

9 – Joyce Street Improvements – Arlington County, in conjunction with VDOT and the Federal Highway Administration, updated the I-395 underpass to provide better access between Columbia Pike and Pentagon City.  People on bikes and on foot may now use over 1000 feet of brand new 10 foot wide sidewalk in either direction!

10 – Bikeshare Expansion – The big news in the world of Capital Bikeshare in Arlington for 2013 was that it has finally expanded to Columbia Pike!  As of December, there are now a total of 67 stations in Arlington. Originally, the network of stations was limited to Crystal City and the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, but this past year brought stations to many new areas like Shirlington, Fairlington and Long Bridge Park. Would you like to see a station near where you work or live?  Suggest a Capital Bikeshare location on our Crowdsourcing map!