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Entries tagged: Bike Parking

In my post last week about the new bike-friendly developments with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, I failed to give the Boston Cyclists Union their due. The BCU played a key role in discussions with the MTBA and their work should have been highlighted in the headline. Thanks to BCU founder and director, Pete Stidman, for bringing the omission to my attention!

Speaking of progress in Boston, several other Alliance member organizations — MassBike, LivableStreets, and the Boston Cyclists Union — have been building on their relationships with the local transit agency to enhance bicyclists’ access to stations and safety on the streets.

Back in April, advocates from MassBike and the Boston Cyclists Union met with officials at the MBTA to discuss how they could work together to better align cyclists and buses as allies, instead of enemies, on city streets. The result: An improved bicyclist safety training for bus drivers that draws on best practices from other areas, like Chicago.

Last month, David Watson, executive director for MassBike attended one of the trainings. “We are happy to report that the new training is a vast improvement over past policies and should go a long way to making bicyclists safer on the roads,” MassBike reported in its newsletter. “During the training, a bus driver will review past incidents, participate in a classroom session with a bicycling advocate present to answer questions, go through a number of bicyclist-driver simulations, and finally be tested through road evaluations. The end result should be a bus driver who is knowledgeable and well-prepared for operating a bus safely around bicyclists.”

The MBTA is also making it easier, and safer, for cyclists to take advantage of public transit themselves. Again, with some urging from Boston advocates, the agency is upping its parking options for folks on two wheels.

“From now through next spring, the MBTA will be installing 50 BikePorts around their stations,” MassBike says. “The BikePorts are canopied bike racks, so you’ll be able to lock up with some protection from the elements… During 2011, the T will also complete six more Pedal & Parks — the T’s secure bike-parking facilities. So far, the three operational Pedal & Parks have been a huge success, and are constantly filled with bicycles. The new facilities… will be able to hold 100-150 bicycles… Lastly, over the next 18 months, 100 percent of the MBTA’s bus fleet will be equipped with bike racks, so you’ll finally be able to rely on the next bus having a rack (and let your bike do some of the riding for a change).”

Learn more and follow Boston’s progress via MassBike’s blog and the Boston Cyclists Union.

Last summer, the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition launched its City of Lights program to assist and empower the area’s many immigrant cyclists. The new initiative quickly led to the creation and distribution of more than 600 Spanish guides that cover the fundamentals of safe cycling.

Bridging the language gap is just the first step, though. The far bigger leap is addressing the lack of bicycling infrastructure in Central LA. But early in the campaign, City of Lights volunteers recognized a serious problem — with a relatively cheap and simple solution.

“Despite the affordability of cycling to work, some day laborers have told us about an unwillingness to bike to the day laborer center because of the threat of bicycle theft,” the City of Lights blog noted back in December. “The fences and poles that laborers use to lock up their bicycles often do not provide adequate visibility or assurance to potential cyclists.”

It wasn’t just the day laborer center that lacked safe parking options, either. When the City of Lights crew conducted a survey in late 2009 they discovered that the Pico-Union and Westlake neighborhoods — two of the city’s most densely inhabited areas with more than 140,000 residents within a five-mile radius — had a mere 53 bike racks. The scoping led to a list of 40 proposed bike parking locations submitted to the LA Department of Transportation, and a new Bike Parking Community Resource Guide for advocates and business owners.

Last week, LACBC celebrated a key victory in its parking campaign. Video cameras rolled and volunteers cheered as LADOT pounded four new bike racks into the pavement outside the CARECEN day labor center.

“This is a really important site, because it was the birthplace of City of Lights,” says Allison Mannos, the LACBC’s urban programs coordinator. “It also sets a precedent for low-income cyclists and working people who don’t own cars that their needs for safer neighborhoods, worksites, and streets are just as important. Having bike parking encourages such long-running ‘accidental environmentalism’ that working class people, such as day laborer cyclists, practice everyday.”

With the City of Lights program gaining steam, city officials promised CARECEN is just the first site of many to come. “LADOT is proud to partner with LACBC, CARECEN, and Councilmember [Ed] Reyes in providing adequate bicycle parking opportunities to some of the Angelinos who are most in need,” said Rita L. Robinson, LADOT General Manager.

Learn more about the exciting work of the City of Lights program here.

Photo: Allison Mannos, LACBC urban programs coordinator, celebrates with CARECEN’s Jose Veliz.

According to Bike Pittsburgh (Bike PGH), “Pittsburgh City Council unanimously passed the Bike Parking Ordinance this week.  The ordinance is an amendment to the zoning code that requires all new and “change-in-use” buildings to install bicycle parking, just like they already must do for cars.  There is also an incentive component to the ordinance, whereby a developer can replace up to 30% of their car parking requirement with bicycle parking. Basically, it makes sure that bikes are considered during the planning process, instead of trying to retrofit for them afterward.

Councilman Patrick Dowd connected the dots and discussed how this ordinance is just a piece of the broader concept of what ‘we really have to do’ to turn Pittsburgh into a bicycle-friendly city.  He cited the four-E’s commitment from the city: enforcement, education, economic incentives, and engineering.”

For over two years, BikePGH has been working on this measure, with the planning department and the mayor’s bike/ped coordinator, researching best practices from other cities, getting input from architects and developers in order to get this piece of code written, and encouraging cyclists and other members of the public to participate in the process. This is a big win for BikePGH and a milestone for bicycling in the city of Pittsburgh. 

To view the full ordinance and find out more about BikePGH click here.

On October 2, 2009, the Washington Area Bicyclist Association and many other bike enthusiasts shared in the ribbon cutting celebration of the new state-of-the art BikeStation® D.C. Opening the ceremony to a shoulder to shoulder audience, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty stated, “This is not a crowd but a response to a growing national trend.”

The D.C. bike station was built in concert with Mobis Transportation/Bikestation and funded by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and Federal Highway Administration. DDOT Director Kelin said, “This new architecturally striking facility serves as a symbol that bicycling is a legitimate form of transportation.” The architect designed the station to reflect the image of a bike helmet and also embody sustainability.

The new bike station’s glass enclosure minimizes power usage and recycles rainwater for use in irrigating surrounding plants. BikeStation® D.C. will house approximately 133 secure bicycle parking spaces, and provide changing rooms and lockers. In addition, the BikeStation® D.C. will be staffed daily (Weekdays 7am-7pm, Weekends 9am-5pm) by Bike and Roll Washington D.C., offering bicycle repair, retail sales, and bike rental.  Individuals can purchase a membership for 24/7 access to the station. For more information about BikeStation® D.C visit http://www.bikestation.com/washingtondc/index.asp.

The San Luis Obispo County Bicycle Coalition (SLOCBC) is celebrating a milestone of 15,000 bicycle parked with their Bike Valet Program. According to SLOCBC, “he Bike Valet is a volunteer run bike parking service aimed at making it easier for people to pedal to community events. The Valet works just like a coat check.  Upon arrival at the valet, each rider is given a claim check tag matching the number allocated to their bike.  Their bike is carefully parked in the secure lot for the duration of the event.  When they wish to retrieve their bike they simply hand our volunteers their claim check tag and the bike is returned with ease.”

SLOCBC is celebrating their landmark achievement with smiles, excitement, and a free raffle this Thursday at Farmer’s Market Bike Valet. For a chance to win a Mobile Solar Charger for cells/pods/whatever else, Rickshaw Bag Works ‘Zero’ Messenger Bag, & Gift Certs to Local Businesses, SLOCBC is giving one free ticket to those who ride their bike, two free tickets to SLOCBC members, and five tickets to people who join as new members.

For more information on SLOCBC’s Bike Valet Program visit http://slobikelane.org/cm/programs/BikeValet/Home.html.

With City Council’s resounding “yeah” vote, the City of Pittsburgh now has bike rack installation rules similar to other cities with bike friendly status. Reflective of a new found commitment to transform Pittsburgh into a “world class city” of bikeable and walkable communities, the ordinance will allow for bicycle racks to be installed in the public right-of-way by property and business owners through a simple and expedited process. Read more about this first major accomplishment of the recently hired Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator, a city position created by BikePGH.

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