Virginia’s Fairfax County is planning a significant expansion of Capital Bikeshare, but expects to hit pause on any wide-ranging county endorsement of dockless shared scooters and bikes along a major study corridor.
The scooters are already coming.
After a delay, a new station at the Dunn Loring Metro is due to launch next week, along with two other docks nearby — including one in the Mosaic District. Six more stations are expected next year down to Inova Fairfax Hospital.
A recently completed study of the potential for bikeshare in an area largely along Virginia Route 123 from Tysons through Vienna, the City of Fairfax and the George Mason University area recommends expanding Capital Bikeshare into most of that corridor, with future consideration of dockless options particularly in lower density areas.
Given hills and how spread out some things are, the study supports electric pedal-assist bikes or dockless electric scooters. Capital Bikeshare’s pedal assist bikes remain out of commission due to braking concerns, with a new model promised at some point in the future.
The study does not recommend expanding Capital Bikeshare to the Burke Centre area at this point.
In the Vienna area, Fairfax County’s study recommends bikeshare from the Dunn Loring and Vienna Metro, along Gallows Road, Nottoway Park and Circle Towers. In the Town of Vienna, stations could go at the community center, Town Green, Maple Avenue Shopping Center, Navy Federal Credit Union and the redeveloped 444 Maple Ave. West.
Fairfax County expects at least four stations in the Vienna area, including at the Vienna Metro’s south entrance, will come online next spring.
By next summer, the county expects to launch 17 more stations in the Providence District along Virginia Route 7 between Tysons and Falls Church, along U.S. Route 29 between Falls Church and Merrifield, along Gallows Road between Merrifield and Tysons, and in the area near Westgate Elementary School near Tysons.
Bikeshare came to Fairfax County in fall 2016 with stations in Reston and Tysons. There are now 30 stations in that area — 16 in Reston, 13 in Tysons and one at West Falls Church Metro to go with the new stations that just came online in the City of Falls Church last week.
Last year, people took 23,129 Capital Bikeshare trips in Fairfax County.
Fairfax County will add a new station in Tysons at the end of this week at Hilton’s headquarters.
By next spring, Fairfax County expects to add 10 more stations in the Reston area, including potentially along Baron Cameron Avenue, North Shore Drive, South Lakes Drive, Glade Drive and at the Reston Community Center Hunters Woods.
The county hopes for future “private, local and federal funding for additional expansions,” including along the Mount Vernon Trail and U.S. Route 1 in and around Huntington, near the Franconia-Springfield Metro, around Silver Line extension stations in Reston and Herndon due to open next year, around Fair Oaks and Fairfax Corner, Seven Corners, Bailey’s Crossroads and Annandale.
Vienna, the City of Fairfax and George Mason University are seeking funding for their new future docks that would provide important links to the docks going in in Fairfax County.
