Short term bicycle parking
Bicycle
parking facilities are sometimes classified into Class 1 and Class
2 facilities; Class One being lockers or enclosed areas and Class
Two being unprotected stands or racks. The
Santa Cruz bicycle parking ordinance, for example, uses this
system .
Nowadays, however, most communities divide parking facilities into
those that provide acceptable long-term or short-term parking. Short-term
bicycle parking is usually defined as being two hours or less, such
as might be necessary outside a store, or for visitors to an office
building or Government service center. Both Portland and Denver
recommend racks be within 50 feet of the main entrance to the building,
or entrances that are frequently used by cyclists. The Palo Alto
bicycle parking ordinance actually requires the furthest bicycle
parking rack to be no further away from an office entrance than
the nearest car parking space! Other critical factors for short-term
parking are that it be:
-
well distributed. i.e. it’s likely better to have four or five
racks spread out along one city block rather than a group of four
or five racks mid-block
-
visible to the cyclist
-
in areas of high pedestrian activity, to discourage would-be thieves
In downtown
Iowa City, bikes can be locked to parking meters that have been
adapted for the purpose.
|