Successful bike parking
Not every concept, skill or tool can be further and further simplified. Does anything really take just 3 steps?
1. Set it, 2. Forget it, 3. No third step! (This article is about bike parking, not Ron Popeil’s Showtime Rotisserie!)
I believe I can simplify bike parking. Here are my two rules to have successful and well-used bike parking:
1. Put bike parking as close to the front door as physically possible. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen bicycle riders use a substandard sign pole or tree instead of a high-quality bike rack because the bike rack was an additional 20 feet from the front door. UPDATE: As Dave Reid points out in the comments below, close parking increases security.
The bike parking in this photo sits only 20 feet away from the front door to a popular Chicago, Illinois, restaurant.
2. Choose the right bike rack. How do you know? Give bicycle riders a bike rack that’s easy to use and secure (i.e. don’t let the bike rack be the weak point in the bicycle’s security).
Six u-racks (also known as inverted-u, or staple racks) line the sidewalk in front of Kuma’s Corner in Chicago, Illinois.
If these two tips aren’t good enough, read through the online brochure, Bicycles at Rest, from the Capital Bike & Walk Society, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
Tags: behavior, Bicycling, bike parking, bike rack, Chicago, concept, People, planning, Urban Design
-Steven Vance
