THE GAZETTE
Page A-8
Wednesday, October 2, 2013 o
Maryland’s first Capital Bikeshare stations open in county Red bikes ready to roll; unveiled Friday at Rockville grand opening
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BY SAMANTHA SCHMIEDER SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE
Fifteen shiny new bikes lined up, ready to roll, as the county unveiled its 14 Capital Bikeshare stations Friday. The first Capital Bikeshare station in Maryland opened in Rockville with city and state officials hosting a grand opening event at the station, located at the corner of Maryland and Montgomery avenues. The Rockville station is one of 14 stations opening in Montgomery County Friday with 51 total planned to span the area. The expansion of Capital Bikeshare in Washington, D.C., marks the first bike-sharing program in Maryland. The network includes stations on both sides of Metro’s Red Line inside the Beltway, and stations clustered around the Rockville and Shady Grove Metro stations.
“The sturdy red bikes are finally rolling into Bethesda, Rockville, and Silver Spring,” said Councilman Roger Berliner (D-Dist. 1) of Bethesda, chairman of the Council’s Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee. “This is a significant step in creating a less car-centric culture. We want an environment that encourages healthier and greener mobility options and Bikeshare does just that.” Steve Friedman, a member of the county’s Pedestrian, Bicycle and Traffic Safety Advisory Committee, biked up to the bikeshare launch, saying the advisory committee was happy to put its weight behind the program. “We support it and recognized the value of it,” Friedman said while sitting atop his own bicycle. To use the bikes, memberships for 24 hours or three days can be bought with a credit card directly at the station and monthly and yearlong memberships can be purchased online or over the phone. Within the membership time, bikes can be used free of charge as many times as necessary for 30-minute increments, with longer trips costing a
DAN GROSS/THE GAZETTE
County Council members (from left) Roger Berliner (D-Dist. 1) of Bethesda, Valerie Ervin (D-Dist. 5) of Silver Spring and Hans Riemer (D-At large) of Silver Spring pose on bikes in Courthouse Square in Rockville before a ribbon-cutting for the Capital Bikeshare stations opening in Montgomery County. small fee. One of the main draws of the program is that, unlike traditional bike rentals, bikes don’t have to be returned to the same place they were picked up. Instead, renters can leave the bike at the
most convenient station to their travels. Maryland Secretary of Transportation James Smith attended Friday’s event, praising the county for taking the initiative and saying Montgomery County residents and politicians always
“show up, stand up and pay up” when they want something done. “[Residents can] use mass transit to get to a location and the Bikeshare to get to their ultimate destination,” Smith said. Safety was another theme of the grand opening, with many of the speakers commenting on bike paths and lanes and the safety manuals being handed out. Casey Anderson, a member of the Montgomery County Planning Board, suggested riders attend a $10 bicycle safety course being taught at Montgomery College. A group of Richard Montgomery High School students passing by the Bikeshare celebration were interested in the program, but not enough to consider a membership. Though the teens said they didn’t think they would ever really use it to travel anywhere specific, they all agreed they would consider using them as a fun group activity for a day. To learn more about Capital Bikeshare or to sign up for one of six different membership options, visit www. capitalbikeshare.com.
Enrollment falls at Montgomery College after steady growth n
Financial aid requests still on the rise
BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
Montgomery College saw a slight decline in its fall enrollment this year in what a spokeswoman called a “leveling off.” Previously, during a recession, there was a boom in enrollment, she said. Total fall enrollment at the college — which has Rockville, Germantown and Takoma Park/ Silver Spring campuses — is
down about 4.7 percent compared to last fall’s enrollment, according to Sept. 18 enrollment data from the college’s website. Elizabeth Homan, the college’s director of communications, said the college has experienced growth over the last decade and record enrollment during the past couple years. “We’re seeing that level off this year,” she said. “We recognize that once the economy changes, that can impact our enrollment.” More than 26,000 students enrolled in for-credit classes at the college this fall, Homan said,
though she added the number is not yet official. Enrollment is also expected to grow during the spring semester, she said. Homan said the fall enrollment numbers are close to what the college saw in fiscal 2011. According to the online fall enrollment report, the college’s Rockville campus is down 6 percent in unduplicated students, its Germantown campus is down 4 percent and its Takoma Park/Silver Spring campus is down 0.8 percent. The slight decline comes after the college had its highest fall enrollment of nearly 27,500 for-
credit students last year. Montgomery College had the highest undergraduate fall enrollment in the state with nearly 27,000 for-credit students in fall 2011. Similar to the experience of community colleges around the country, Homan said, Montgomery College saw an increase in enrollment during the recession as students turned to more affordable college opportunities. In fiscal 2009, annual enrollment rose to about 35,600 students in for-credit classes and in fiscal 2010 rose to about 37,500. “It changes an individual’s
mindset when you’re dealing with an economic recession versus a more robust economy,” she said. Homan said the college is renewing its focus to retention of its students. Bernard Sadusky, executive director of the Maryland Association of Community Colleges, said that — with the exception of one or two schools — community colleges are generally seeing a decline in their enrollment this fall. Last year, Sadusky said, statewide community college enrollment was generally flat or slightly down after about five years of “unprecedented growth.” This year, average enrollment is down about 3 percent from last year, he said. Sadusky said he thought one of a couple reasons for the enrollment decline is tied to the
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fact that “the economy seems to be picking up.” “For us, that has the opposite effect on enrollment,” he said — an inverse relationship that has existed for the past few decades. Yet Montgomery College students’ requests for financial aid are not mirroring the enrollment trend. Melissa Gregory, the college’s financial aid director, said that for each of the past five years the college has seen between 15 and 20 percent increases in financial aid requests. As of around mid-September, the college was still up about 5 percent in its financial aid applications. The college offers its own financial aid and participates in a variety of financial aid programs, including the federal Pell Grant program as well as state programs.