Transit Diary: An Alexandria City Councilmember’s bike-centered week

Transit Diaries is a series in which residents of Greater Washington track how they get around the region for a week, shedding light on what’s working well and not so well with our transportation system. We’re looking for more people who are interested in writing their own transit diary. If that sounds interesting to you, please email editor@ggwash.org!

Hi! My name is Sarah Bagley and I’m a resident of Old Town Alexandria where I work for an affordable housing non-profit and serve on the City Council.

Amusingly, I originally moved to DC in 2003 from Hampton Roads in search of ‘mass transit’ after years growing up getting stuck in one bridge or tunnel delay after another. While living in DC, Metro, and Metrobus were my primary means of getting around with bike rides in the mix. That mix has shifted to primarily biking while living in Alexandria with some walks, DASH rides, Ubers, and carpooling mixed in, and when I’m lucky, an Amtrak ride!

Day 1: Monday, January 9

Trips - 3, Bike 2, Walk 1

My day job was remote prior to and since the pandemic so on a normal day, I work from home and if I’m restless or hungry, find myself working from a coffee shop or park.

Modes chosen:

1. Bike ride (7 minutes) - Home to ALX Community coworking space for Meeting, worked in community area
2. Walked with bike (5 minutes) to O’Connell’s for dinner
3. Bike ride (9 minutes) - Home from O’Connell’s

Highlights: Always pretty riding along Union Street and walking with my bike along the pedestrian portion of King Street.

Hitches: No bike lock parking in immediate vicinity of O’Connell’s.

Day 2: Tuesday, January 10

Trips - 3, Bike 2, Walk 1

Another work day with Zoom Meetings and phone calls from home.

Modes chosen:

1. Bike ride (7 minutes) to the Torpedo Factory for an afternoon artist meeting. Grab a coffee on my way in.
2. Walk w/bike (5 minutes) from the TFAC to City Hall for Legislative Meeting.
3. Bike ride (8 minutes) from City Hall to Home

Hitches: None!

Highlights: Always enjoy the quiet lit streets at night riding home after Council meetings. My only company on the road is usually the Old Town Circulator DASH bus running up and down Fairfax.

Day 3: Wednesday, January 11

Trips - 1, Walk 1

All virtual meetings day so I arranged to go for an afternoon walk with a friend and fit in a stop for groceries! Photo is from the PSA I filmed in 2022 with DASH demonstrating how to load your bike on a DASH bus!

Modes chosen:

1. Walk (1 hour) around North Old Town around 2.5 miles with a friend with a stop at the market for lunch and dinner items to carry home.

Hitch: Not enough dogs.

Highlight: Saw a friend and petted a few dogs.

Day 4: Thursday, January 12

Trips - 3, Uber 1, Train 1, Walk 1

I worked from home, attended a few virtual meetings in my council capacity and then traveled to Richmond by train to participate in some advocacy meetings.

Modes chosen:

1. I took an Uber (10 minutes) from home to the King Street Amtrak Station.
2. I took the Amtrak Northeast Regional (2.5 hours) from Alexandria to Richmond Main Street Station.
3. I walked (12 minutes - uphill!) about ¾ of a mile from the train station to my hotel.

Hitch: But for some timing challenges and needing to be on various calls, I would have preferred to bike or scooter to the station but maybe next time.

Highlight: The Amtrak ride allowed me to continue participating in a local committee meeting, answer some emails, and look out the window!

Day 5: Friday, January 13

Trips - 6, Walk 6

Friday was great because I was able to walk everywhere I needed to go and was able to participate in several events, enjoy some delicious food, and keep up with work calls.

Modes chosen:

Walks (between 5 and 10 minutes each) - Hotel to St. Paul Episcopal Church, St. Paul Episcopal Church to Commonwealth Cafe, Commonwealth Cafe to Buttermilk & Honey, return to hotel, Walk to Tobacco Company for dinner and then drinks at Sam Miller’s bar.

Hitches: None!

Highlights: Checking out the bike lane infrastructure downtown on Franklin Street.

Day 6: Saturday, January 14

Trips - 5, Car 5

This day was definitely out of the normal from a transit perspective in that I was getting around by car all day. But, we were doing tourism around Richmond all day and were able to check out many parts of town. I did photograph and note the cool bus stops around town though and convinced the employee at St. John’s Episcopal Church to consider using the Transit App!

Modes chosen:

Car - Church Hill, Cary Street, Downtown, Scott’s Addition, Richmond to Alexandria

Hitch: Parking was actually pretty easy and nearby at most stops.

Highlight: The walkability and cool shops of Carytown!

Day 7: Sunday, January 15

Trips - 6, Bike 6

An ideal transit day, where I get to cover lots of the City, do an outfit change midday, ride home with leftovers and bump into a colleague walking their dog. I covered about nine miles and about an hour combined of time.

Modes chosen:

1. Biked (15 minutes) from home to Four Mile Run for a Martin Luther King Day Service project cleaning up in the park and preserve.
2. Biked from Four Mile Run to the Del Ray St. Elmo’s (8 minutes) for a coffee pick-me-up before my next event.
3. Biked from St. Elmo’s to Walgreens for miscellaneous toiletries (2 minutes).
4. Biked (15 minutes) from Walgreens to the Masonic Temple for the Alexandria MLK Jr. Memorial Event - the 50th anniversary of this event. Also the first time I successfully biked all the way up to the Temple without stopping!
5. Biked (15 minutes) from Masonic Temple to SpiceKraft in Del Ray for dinner with a friend.
6. Biked (11 minutes) from SpiceKraft back home!

Hitch: Intersection connecting Commonwealth, King, and Callahan around the Masonic Temple isn’t great for cyclists but I made it through twice without incident.

Highlight: Clear skies and cool but not cold weather made for a good riding environment all day.

Final Tally: 28 Trips

This was an interesting but not atypical week. I do own a car but I’ve found I often go a week or more without driving it and I’m inching closer to parting with car ownership for good. My comfort with traveling by bike means I don’t often use DASH but I live on several high-frequency routes and have jumped on (fare free!) when that’s more convenient (and stashed my bike on the bus bike rack!). I’m fortunate that nowhere in Alexandria is more than seven or eight miles away by bike and DC is the same distance so barring a real timing issue, I can usually travel by bike. I find its a great way to see the city from another perspective and quickly stop for a conversation or some window shopping! The time away from screens and in the fresh air is so valuable too for my mental health and creative thinking.