Part one of a series

This is the first post in a series about bike parking in New York City. In future posts we will discuss: 1) sites where expanding bike parking could make the most sense; 2) other issues the City should consider in the provision of bicycle parking; and 3) approaches the City might want to consider to get the private and non-profit sectors involved in developing bike parking initiatives.

The New York Times reported on January 17 that the 34th Street Partnership business improvement district is working with Stonehenge Management to reserve a 2,600 square foot lot on West 33rd Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenue to develop an attended bicycle parking lot. Although there are some wrinkles to iron out, this is a promising development for bicycle commuters (and would-be bicycle commuters) looking for a more secure place to park their bikes after their morning ride to Midtown Manhattan.

Mayor Bloomberg's PLANYC sustainability plan proposes to invest in bicycle facilities – including bike lanes, greenways and bike parking – in order to increase bicycle commuting in the City. Although a small percentage of New Yorkers commute to work by bicycle (about .47 percent of employed New York City residents and .85 percent of employed Manhattan residents as of the 2000 Census), the number is growing and could play a role in relieving crowding on congested subway lines. Since 2000, the number of bicyclists crossing the Manhattan central business district "cordon" on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. has grown by 74 percent to 22,300 riders in 2006.

A lack of safe, convenient bike parking is cited by New York City bicyclists as a major reason they choose not to commute by bicycle. In a survey of New York City bicyclists, the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) asked, "If you do not commute by bicycle to work, why not?" More than any other factor, bicyclists cited "no safe storage facility for my bike" as the most important reason.

Where do New York City bicyclists want to see more bike parking? The figure below shows the most common answers to the question, "Where would you like more bike racks?" posed in the survey above. The good news is that public agencies control two of the top three places where bicyclists want additional space to park: curbside and subway stations.

NYCDCP bicycle survey question: "Where would you like more bike racks?"(Source: New York City Bicycle Survey, 998 responses)

More good news: during the past year, New York City has made progress in expanding bike parking – through its CityRacks program and other initiatives. For example, the City converted on-street parking spaces to bicycle parking at the Bedford Avenue subway station in Williamsburg. The City's bus shelter franchisee, Cemusa, is planning to develop 37 bike parking shelters in the City and has completed five of them to date.

Despite this progress, New York City still lags behind other North American cities in the number of curbside bike racks. For example, between 1993 and 2004, Chicago installed 10,000 bike racks on public property and has added about 400 per year since 2004. (It's also worth noting that 110 of 124 Chicago Transit Authority stations have bike parking available – and 82 of those stations offer indoor or protected bike parking.)

The table below shows the number of bike racks available in major North American cities and the number of bike racks per capita. (Most bike racks can hold more than one bike. Ted Timbers of NYC DOT estimates that the City's 4,000 bike racks can accommodate about 20,000 bikes.)

Bike racks per capita in selected North American cities*

Watch this space during the next several weeks as we consider the kinds of sites where expanding bike parking could make the most sense, other issues the City should consider in the provision of bicycle parking, and some approaches the City might want to consider to get the private and non-profit sectors involved in developing bike parking initiatives.

* Sources:
Toronto Bike Plan Newsletter, Summer 2007
McGeehan, Patrick. "Bike Parking Lot, With Attendant, Is Planned for Midtown." New York Times. January 17, 2008.
http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/bikeinfo.htm
Urban Transportation Report Card 2007
http://www.transalt.org/press/magazine/992MarApr/05bikeshorts.html
http://www.slcgov.com/transportation/dtp/pdf-ppt/portlandtrans.pdf
http://www.bikeroute.com/NBGBikingCities/SaltLakeCity/SaltLakeCityBiking...
http://www.bikeroute.com/NationalMayorsRide2005/DC/DCBiking.html
http://www.voyagezfute.ca/velo.asp?lng=1
http://www.tac-atc.ca/english/pdf/conf2005/s9/Jolicoeur.pdf
http://www.velo.qc.ca/veloboulot/bulletin/mail2007.lasso?langue=en