Arlington Republicans Come Out Against Bike-Share Expansion

I'm not sure how many docks the new stations have, but [a typical station might have] at least 12. So what was once serving at most three users at any one time, and fewer than that most of the time, can now serve 12 users at a time. According to Donald Shoup, the average turnover of streetside parking in a busy downtown is 10 cars per day. So if on average 31 cyclists use the station every day, the space is serving more users. About 40% of current CaBi stations meet that standard now, and that was through the winter and early months when membership was still climbing.

While it might inconvenience drivers, that isn't guaranteed. Encouraging more people to bike to the area could free up more parking spaces than it removes and reduce congestion on the drive there. And it will definitely increase convenience for cyclists. Why should we prefer drivers over cyclists? Isn't the goal the more efficient use of public space?

As for their claim that it will result in lost revenue, their calculation is off. Only when parking is full and those spaces are the marginal spaces will revenue be lost; at all other times the driver will simply go to the next space down the block. Yes, those who bike instead of drive will not pay for parking. That is lost revenue. But it comes with many positive externalities that Arlington also values. Arlington County is not a parking business. It has other interests - and since when are Republicans in favor of parking meter fees?