The Boston Globe ran a story today about the severe lack of parking spots for bicycles in certain parts of Boston and Cambridge. There in the middle of the article was Village 14’s own Chuck Tanowitz weighing in with his bicycle/parking experience.
“In Central Square, bike commuter Chuck Tanowitz sometimes simply won’t use his bike for a midday outing if he likes where he locked it up that morning. “I’ll take a Hubway bike,” said Tanowitz, a principal at Fresh Ground, a Central Square PR firm. Hubway is a bike-sharing network.”
I love the thought of bike rack design competitions! Who knew? Maybe bike racks need meters where demand exceeds supply of spaces? Or someone needs to figure out how to use vertical space, like those parking garages for cars where the car goes up on an elevator instead of ramps. Just don’t chain bikes to trees, please!
I found this article very interesting and correct, though Cambridge is installing I think about 200 racks a year perhaps a bit more in places. They recently put in maybe 30 covered spots next to the old coop location in the city parking lot where the farmers market is held in Central Square. That said I usually can find a space, but it is very very crowded and can be tricky. There is parking but it is further and further away from where you want to be in some cases.
Meters are not the answer, paid parking could be the answer but it needs to have a service attached to it more than just a space. A number of Dutch bike parking garages have paid and unpaid spaces, you pay for 24hr security as well as a tuneup and bike valet service along with the guaranteed space. Cambridge and Boston need to build out the on street bike corrals, but that will only get us so far. Biking in the winter is growing and better parking will be needed down the line, but in the meantime using a spot for 1 person in a car to park 8 or 10 people on bikes makes good fiscal sense even if you technically loose the meter funds for that space. In addition there are lots of wasted space on either end of most blocks which don’t have room for a full car space so are blocked off, these areas are ripe for some nice bike parking.
I usually agree with Cambridge on most things, but not on artistic rack competitions. I think they are silly and the designs that folks come up with are not as practical or usable as the simple U-rack or the Dutch Tulip rack. It is really a waste of money in my opinion and outside of a specific environment (say kids museum) they have no place in the urban environment (ok a bit harsh but I really don’t like the idea or competition for them, they cost way more and don’t typically provide near the number of parking in a given area)
Oh and before anybody thinks it would be a great idea to have lots of off street bike parking to clear up the sidewalks, that is just plain stupid. Off street secure parking can be useful for commuter rail or day parking (bike to the Greenline etc). But you also need ample street parking for bikes to provide for shopping and transportation based trips. We may have a specific destination in mind but more likely we will be cycling by, see something, or smell something and want to stop in. If parking is not available nearby most folks will move on. Now we won’t be going to the big box stores or chains typically (unlike many auto drivers), but limited bike parking reduces spur of the moment purchases which while good for my wallet are not as good for the business or community.
If you see bikes locked to trees it is because there is not enough parking, I personally won’t lock to a tree even as a last resort but I am not so typical among folks looking for parking.
Bike parking is a problem, as are standards for parking. It is a personal focus of mine, that usually does not get enough attention. Glad to see it finally is!
Honestly, the article takes me out of context a bit. I never really have a problem in Central Square, but it’s other places that are more of a problem. It’s also about what kind of lock you use to secure your bike. I have a U-Lock, which is great if you are on one of the tulip locks, but tougher if you’re at a place like Russo’s, which has only one older bike rack.
I’ve been hearing a lot about “adding” bike parking, but we still live in a society that favors cars over bikes. So here in Newton, we require places to have enough parking space each time they ask to open, but we don’t require access to bike parking. There have been exceptions (the fork and spoon bike lock i Newton Centre is one) but overall it’s hard to lock a bike but easy to park a car.
Right now stores don’t see the benefit in offering bike parking, but if we can prove our value that will change. Look what happens when you talk about closing the Austin Street parking lot, people are up in arms! But if you bike to Newtonville, how many places are there to lock your bike that are convenient to the stores? I always end up locking to a parking meter, and so do many others.
A bike-friendly infrastructure is about more than just bike lanes, it’s about giving people a place to put the bikes and a way to transport goods home.
As a great counter to the Boston Globe piece on bike parking, the Wall Street Journal ran a great review of cargo bikes. I’ve seen more of these around Cambridge and expect to see more around Newton soon. They’re great for transporting kids and goods, especially when you’re only biking a few miles. But where would you park a bike that is a bit longer?
On nice biking days, temporary bike corrals can be put in front of places like, say, Panera in Newton Centre, to complement outdoor seating. On bad biking days, corrals can be stowed, when outdoor seating is closed. Corrals are as simple to set up as outdoor seating.
Bike Newton demonstrated this in front of JP Licks a few years ago, and a festival type atmosphere erupted. JP Licks loved it and business boomed. http://newtonstreets.blogspot.com/2009/06/on-street-bike-parking-in-newton.html
I think we should be also looking into bike-based delivery services, like this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/07/business/in-cargo-delivery-the-three-wheelers-that-could.html?smid=fb-share
mgwa – or like this?
http://village14.com/netwon-ma/2013/04/dunn-gaherins-two-wheel-delivery/#axzz2YZWJFELp
mgwa I read the same article and wondered what the viability would be here. I’ve seen at least one contractor biking through town with a long trailer. I have to imagine that we have the right density, but do we have short-distance delivery need?
Does anyone know how it’s working for Dunn Gaharins?
Chuck – I’d think it could work in Boston and Cambridge. Possibly Newton, depending on how many businesses they could get buy-in from. When I was a girl in Manhattan, the local markets would deliver your groceries (by bike carts) for you after you paid at the register – very useful in a place where most people didn’t own cars.