Decent bike parking is key

cnBathurst Bikes
16 years ago ago by Danielle Scott.
Photo: danielle_scott

Tom Vanderbilt, author of Traffic, writes that bike parking revolutionize cities. Toronto has been on the vanguard of providing good bike parking in its ubiquitous post and rings. With a draft zoning by-law in the works, we can look forward to more advances with stipulations on short-term and long-term bike parking in commercial and residential buildings. It should get even easier and safer to lock up your bike.

Why do these measures matter? Because parking helps make commuters—a lesson long ago learned with cars. Studies in New York found that a surprisingly large percentage of vehicles coming into lower Manhattan were government employees or others who had an assured parking spot. Other studies have shown the presence of a guaranteed parking spot at home—required in new residential developments—is what turns a New Yorker into a car commuter.

On the flip side, people would be much less likely to drive into Manhattan if they knew their expensive car was likely to be stolen, vandalized, or taken away by police. And yet this is what was being asked of bicycle commuters, save those lucky few who work in a handful of buildings that provide indoor bicycle parking. Surveys have shown that the leading deterrent to potential bicycle commuters is lack of a safe, secure parking spot on the other end. (In England, for example, it's been estimated that a bicycle is stolen every 71 seconds.)