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Legislation to ease parking crunch — for bicycles
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A bicycle commuter works his way up Connecticut Avenue from K Street N.W. on Mon, April 24, 2006 in D.C. The D.C. Council is contemplating a move that could dramatically increase the number of parking spaces for bicyclists in the city.
WASHINGTON (Map, News) - The D.C. Council next week is expected to adopt legislation that could dramatically increase the number of parking spaces for bicyclists, a bill praised by the cycling community but criticized by property owners as oppressive overkill.
The measure mandates that all apartment buildings with more than eight units provide one bicycle parking space for every four residential units, demands that commercial landlords deliver enough bicycle parking to match at least 10 percent of the number of available automobile spaces, and requires the installation of bicycle racks at the Wilson Building for no less than 16 riders.
Introduced by Ward 6 Council Member Tommy Wells, the legislation won preliminary council approval in July.
“Secure and ample bike parking is certainly one of the barriers” to creating a more bicycle-friendly community, said Eric Gilliland, executive director of the Washington Area Bicyclists Association. “The more bike parking spaces, the better.”
Gilliland said his group takes frequent calls for help from residents of small apartments who have no place to store their bike.
The measure’s provisions have sparked concern among commercial and residential property owners who fear the one-size-fits-all space mandates are onerous and will reduce already limited parking for vehicles, said Nicola Whiteman, vice president of government affairs with the D.C. Apartment and Office Building Association. Many residential buildings have little surplus indoor space, she said, and the racks set aside by businesses are often underused.
The bill includes a hardship waiver for existing residential complexes.
Wells said Wednesday he is considering “tweaking” the measure to exempt certain residential properties, such as those exclusively for seniors who are unlikely to get around by bike. But the goal remains to support and encourage alternative transportation by removing obstacles, he said.
“If nobody in the building wants or needs bike parking, then we’re looking at an existing building not having to put in bike parking unless a resident requests it,” Wells said of his possible amendment.
Also under the measure:
» Report on availability of bicycle parking spaces at buildings occupied by the D.C. government
» Prepare a strategic plan to increase parking for cyclists citywide
» Provide detailed report on bicycle parking plans for the new baseball stadium.
Comments from Examiner Readers
8:45 PM MST on Thu., Sep. 13, 2007 re: "Legislation to ease parking crunch — for bicycles"
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3:54 PM MST on Thu., Sep. 13, 2007
re: "Legislation to ease parking crunch — for bicycles"
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Allen Muchnick said:
"The measure’s provisions have sparked concern among commercial and residential property owners who fear the one-size-fits-all space mandates are onerous and will reduce already limited parking for vehicles, said Nicola Whiteman, vice president of government affairs with the D.C. Apartment and Office Building Association. Many residential buildings have little surplus indoor space, she said, and the racks set aside by businesses are often underused." Oh, please, the proposed bike parking requirement is hardly onerous. Since at least 10 bikes can be parked in the space of one motor vehicle and only one bike space would be required for every 10 motor vehicle spaces, the bike parking requirement can't reduce the capacity for motor vehicle spaces by more than 1%. Moreover, bikes can often be parked in leftover space where motor vehicles can't fit, and the cost of quality bicycle parking (ca. $100-$200 per parked bicycle) is trivial compared to the cost of structured auto parking.
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collin crowe said:
yeah it would be nice for more parking spaces for your bike but no matter how small your apartment is, you should really keep your bike indoors whenever you can. leaving it out overnight makes it easier to steal plus the rain/snow etc will rust your bike
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