Yesterday’s neighborhood roundup featured some consternation from a Brightwood resident over the District Department of Transportation telling the developers of an apartment complex next to the Takoma metro station that they couldn’t do what lots of developers have been doing lately and pay for a Bikeshare station as part of their project. The frustration is understandable, but this isn’t a knock on Takoma—-it’s just a recognition of the fact that in order to be successful, bikeshare systems have to be compact. One station way up north would not only be useless—-since the nearest one is way down at 14th and Crittenden—-it would also force maintenance crews off their normal routes to take care of the bikes.

Luckily, Montgomery County is proposing to build lots of stations in its southern urban nodes, so there could soon be enough nearby Takoma to justify more there as well.