The Bicycle Transit Center at Union Station should be reimagined and re-opened.
When it opened in 2009, the Union Station Bicycle Transit Center was a world class multimodal bike facility, offering secure bike parking, bike rentals, and repairs, all just steps away from Amtrak, Metro, MARC, and VRE trains.
The space closed in 2019 when the operator ceased operations. But there’s still all this excellent indoor, secure bike parking that’s currently sitting unused.
In light of Amtrak’s recent win to control the retail leases at Union Station, Amtrak now has the opportunity to improve the rail transit experience, which appears to include the Bicycle Transit Center. We’re calling on Amtrak to reactivate this unique space. Beyond the Bicycle Transit Center’s value as cycling infrastructure, it plays a critical role in placemaking at the entry plaza at Union Station, not only as bike parking, rental, and repair but as a visible icon and gathering place celebrating DC’s Bike culture visible to arriving commuters and tourists.
Join us in asking Amtrak to revive the Bicycle Transit Center’s potential, perhaps combined with a “mobility café” as shown below. With the portico and the plaza active, this shared space can again be a gathering place where people meet coming from all modalities, Amtrak, Metro, Bus, Taxi, and Bike. Creating a place to sit, share a drink or a bite with a view of the Capitol. As Daniel Burham, the Architect of Union Station, said “Make no little plans.”
