Biking Beckons in Bethesda (Say It Three Times Fast!)

Everyone knows that Bethesda is a great place for walking, with a Walkability Score of 50. Very soon it will be just as easy to bike around Bethesda, too, says Gazette.net. A bikeshare program is on tap for the downtown area, and the search for funding has begun.

This program, modeled after the one in Washington, DC would create a very green alternative form of transportation for Bethesda residents. Once registered for the bikeshare program, you are allowed to take a bike from a dock, ride to your destination, and return the bike either to its original dock or to any other dock in the city.

The ultimate goal is to give people easy and inexpensive access to bikes, reducing the number of cars on the road as well as the pollution they create.  Reducing automobile traffic will be a very big deal in September when Bethesda’s National Navy Medical Center becomes home to all former Walter Reed patients.

Depending on the number of docks and bikes offered, the costs of the bikeshare program could top out at $300,000.  Some of this will come from state funding, but program officials are also looking to the private sector for help.  Some of their very creative ideas include having local companies sponsor a bike station in exchange for placing ads at the stations or on the bikes. Developers could pay to have a bike station in front of a new building, which would reduce potential traffic issues the building might create.

Bethesda is an area that already takes biking seriously, and many local employers offer allowances for bike equipment as well as showers for their employee bikers.  The bikeshare program would simply extend the opportunity for biking to more residents, with the added benefit of reduced traffic and pollution.

With so many alternatives for getting around to stores, restaurants or your job, Bethesda is one of the most convenient places to live in the DC area.  If you want to experience these benefits, contact me, Mynor Herrera, today for expert help buying or selling in the DC, MD, & VA areas! I also specialize in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, as well as the sub-divisions of Rosemary Hills, Rock Creek Forest, East Bethesda & Whitehall Condominium.