Final Recommendations FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS OVERVIEW This section of the study recommends the imple- BICYCLE LOCKERS mentation of expanded bicycle parking in New York City to best serve the needs of potential • Bicycle Lockers offer protection against commuter cyclists. The recommendations build theft, vandalism and weather. They serve on research compiled and presented in the Lit- typically as user-assigned, long-term park- erature Review and Existing Conditions sections ing facilities, installed at work and school in this study. Following is a summary list of the destinations and at transit stations for inter- recommendations: modal connections. To encourage bicycle use as part of intermodal commuting in New ON-STREET BICYCLE PARKING York City, installation of bicycle lockers at the three major transit hubs - Grand Central • In areas with a dense concentration of com- Station, Pennsylvania Station and The Port mercial and retail space such as midtown Authority Bus Terminal - is recommended. Manhattan, where space for on-street bicycle parking is limited, new space should be created for such facilities. Space could be BIKE STATIONS developed by widening sidewalks at both mid-block and end-block locations. • Bike stations are attended, centralized loca- tions for short and long term parking that • Where parking for more than two bicycles is usually feature a combination of the follow- required, the NYCDOT CityRacks program ing services: bike rental, bike repair, acces- should substitute use of the “Wave” rack for sory sales, food vending, shower and change an alternate design that supports the bicycle facilities and tourist and travel information. in two places. Also, use of the “U” shaped Bike Stations should be implemented in lo- rack should be augmented by use of the cations where they will facilitate intermodal “Hitching Post” style rack. connections and/or access to areas with a high concentration of workplaces. In ad- • Where space is available, the installation of dition to the three major transit hubs, four CityRacks should be accompanied by the recommended locations for a bike station installation of a protective canopy that of- in New York are Wall Street near the corner fers shelter from the weather. Such a shelter of South Street, the World Trade Center could be modeled after the New York City complex, the intersection of Broadway and bus shelter. In addition to weather protection, Houston Street and the southeast corner of such a shelter would offer the advantage of Union Square Park. raised public awareness. 27 Bicycle Parking Needs LOCAL LAWS AND ORDINANCES mine the quantity of bicycle parking spaces required; identify the most suitable means • The NYC Zoning Resolution should be of accommodating projected parking needs; amended to require bicycle parking in con- select a convenient location for a centralized junction with the construction and opera- parking facility if required; plan, design and tion of all new, and continued operation of construct the bicycle parking facility. The all existing, off-street parking facilities in encouragement campaign should also point Manhattan south of 96th Street. Any resolu- out resources from which assistance for the tion should, at a minimum, identify the class planning, design and funding of such facili- and/or type of bicycle parking facility, the ties may be obtained. minimum number of bicycles to be accom- modated and guidelines regarding placement of and access to said facilities. • New York City Council Member Adolfo Car- rion Jr.’s proposed amendment to the New York City Administrative Code to require building owners, citywide, to permit bicycle access to buildings with freight elevators, should be carefully reviewed by the City Council. It is recommended that the leg- islation include language that limit bicycle access to persons who live or work in the particular building. • The City of New York should amend the Mu- nicipal Code to allow municipal employees who work in City owned or leased buildings to bring their bicycles into the building. Such an amendment should identify the class and/or type of bicycle parking facility, the minimum number of bicycles to be accom- modated and guidelines regarding placement of and access to said facilities. ENCOURAGEMENT • The City of New York Department of Transportation should undertake a compre- hensive public outreach campaign designed to encourage private property owners to provide safe, secure off-street bicycle park- ing facilities at/within their buildings. The campaign should recommend that building owners: survey building tenants to deter- 28 Final Recommendations ON-STREET BICYCLE PARKING It is not uncommon to see bikes locked to newspaper vending boxes, trash receptacles and Introduction sometimes even the traffi c signal control boxes On-street bicycle racks, typically placed on city that are typically clustered together at many New sidewalks near the curb, are used by a variety York City street corners. of commuting cyclists including messengers, delivery people and shoppers. Friends visiting friends, students attending a class, and people running small errands also make use of the racks. At subway stations, particularly the Bedford Avenue L train stop in Brooklyn, a growing number of bicycles can be found locked to the CityRacks provided, the subway entrance railing and adjacent sign poles illustrating growth in the number of commuters using their bicycles to travel between home and the subway en-route to Manhattan. Bedford Avenue Subway Entrance Bicycle Chained to Tree Bicycle racks are only as useful, however, as they are available. Where they are not available, a suitable substitute, and a favorite among New Yorkers, is the ubiquitous green drive rail (the steel channel shaped pole) to which curbside parking regulation signs are attached. When no rack or drive rail is at hand, bikes typically get locked to any fi xed object which permits the frame and/or at least one wheel of the bike to be locked to it. This leads to bicycles being locked up to inappropriate objects such as trees and in inappropriate locations where they may present a nuisance to pedestrians. Bicycle Chained to Hydrant 29 Bicycle Parking Needs Though newspaper vending boxes and trash point allowing bikes to rotate about that point receptacles may already be considered an in- and eventually fall down. convenience where pedestrian volumes are high and sidewalk space limited, the addition Where bicycle parking for more than two bicy- of a chained bicycle can render a corner haz- cles is required, an alternate rack design should ardous. Clearly, there are areas in Manhattan be chosen or two or more ‘U’ shaped bicycle where suffi cient on-street bicycle parking is not racks can be placed side by side. Further, the provided. ‘U’ rack should be augmented with ‘Hitching Post’ style racks (see Figures 1-8). The hitching post is more versatile by design, has a wide fl at bar on which something may be written such as ‘Bicycle Parking’ and may prove a more attrac- tive alternative to the ‘U’ rack. Bicycle at Street Corner NYCDOT CityRacks Program As was described on page 63 of the Literature Crowded CityRack at Union Squre Review section, the City of New York Depart- ment of Transportation (CDOT) maintains the CityRacks program. The CityRacks program An additional alternative for bicycle park- installs “U” shaped (2 bicycles) and “Wave” ing are tree guards serving also as bike racks. shaped (3, 5 or 7 bicycles) steel bicycle racks While such designs protect the tree, they can within the public right-of-way in response to also provide better support for the bicycle and public request and based on the Departments allow the use of the popular U-shaped locks. own fi eld research. The racks are free standing Although trees in parks are usually not fenced and are typically attached directly to the side- by tree guards, it should be considered as op- walk with expansion bolts and/or epoxy. The tion for trees on sidewalks and boulevards. racks offer no protection from the weather. Location - Locations where CityRacks may Design - A successful bicycle rack design must be placed are limited to areas where suffi cient be able to support a bicycle that can not oth- clearances allow unimpeded pedestrian circu- erwise stand by itself. The ‘U’ shaped rack, lation when the rack is in use (see the Appendix used by the CDOT CityRacks program, sup- C for the CityRacks siting guidelines). ports a bicycle at two points. The ‘Wave’ rack, however, used to accommodate more than two bicycles, supports bicycles at only one contact 30 Final Recommendations Racks are never installed on sidewalks less In an effort to keep the cost of constructing such than 10’-0” wide. This requirement, while nec- sidewalk extensions to a minimum, priority essary, severely limits the number of eligible should be given to locations that do not require locations, particularly in midtown and lower the reconstruction of drainage structures or the Manhattan, where daytime pedestrian volumes relocation of fi re hydrants. Additional siting on local sidewalks often exceed capacity. guidelines should be developed to ensure that racks are not placed directly opposite either the While a comprehensive study should be under- main or the service entrances to buildings. taken to identify locations in midtown and low- er Manhattan where CityRacks may be placed, Shelter - Presumably, although CityRacks do it is anticipated that an insuffi cient number of get used to a certain extent by individuals who locations will be identifi ed to fully satisfy de- commute to work by bike and store their bike at mand. The creation of new space for bicycle the rack all day, the City’s high rate of bicycle parking should, therefore, be investigated. theft combined with the racks lack of protec- tion from the weather, renders them best suited Widened sidewalks, at both mid-block and to trips of relatively short duration made on end-block locations, could provide the room relatively inexpensive bicycles.