Parking is another area where laws can be created or changed to make cycling easier or to legalize normal behavior. Recent zoning changes, the opportunity for points in LEED certification and efforts by all of the DOT's to add bike parking region-wide should help to make parking easier to find. But parking on the street isn't always desirable and not everyone gets to work in a nice, new building.
Bicycle Access to Buildings If you don't have access to a bicycle parking facility at work then you're stuck parking it on the street or in your office. If you aren't allowed to bring your bike into your place of work, then it has to go outside, where the threat of theft is higher and the rain and sun can damage the bike. For cyclists in the last group, NYC - where bike theft is an epidemic - recently passed a Bicycle Access to Buildings law that went into effect this month.
The law requires the operators of certain New York City office buildings to allow the employees and visitors of their commercial tenants to enter the building with a bicycle pursuant to an individualized "Bicycle Access Plan." Bicycle Access Plans are not automatically required under the Law and must be established on a building-by-building basis. Unless a Bicycle Access Plan is implemented according to the procedures below, a building operator has no obligation under the Law to allow bicycle access. The Law only applies to buildings that have a freight elevator available for bicycle access, and building operators can qualify for exemption from mandatory access in the two ways discussed below.
While it isn't a fix for all for bike commuters, because building and hours are limited and there are a few exceptions, it does open the door to many.
The DC BAC is working on similar legislation to propose to the District Council, which they should pass, and Arlington/Alexandria/Montgomery/Prince Georges should follow suit if not Virginia and Maryland Richard Layman will rightly point out that what is really needed - beyond a bicycle access plan - is holistic transportation demand management, but in the absence of that a bicycle access plan is a good step.
Parking in Public Space - there are several laws about parking in public space, some of which make sense and some which do not. The silly ones should be changed:
DC 1209.1 A person may secure a bicycle to a stanchion for a period of not more than twelve (12) consecutive hours
While this seems like a good idea (no one wants racks clogged up with abandoned bicycles) I can think of a few cases where one might reasonably park a bike for longer than that. If you bike to Union Station to catch a train, for example. I've definitely broken this law before, 12 hours seems short. I can park my car on the street for longer than that. If a bike is parked for longer than 12 hours by an owner who plans to move it within 30 days - when it is considered abandoned - is this really a problem? I'm having trouble determining what that problem would be. This restriction should be removed.
DC 1209.3 No person shall secure a bicycle to any of the following publicly-owned facilities:
(a) Fire hydrants;
(b) Police and fire call boxes;
(c) Electric traffic signal poles;
(d) Stanchions or poles located within bus zones or stands;
(e) Stanchions or poles located within twenty-five feet (25 ft.) of an intersection;
(f) Trees under ten inches (10 in.) in diameter.
(a) makes sense
(b) As long as we're talking about functioning call boxes and not the historic ones all over town. This should be clarified.
(c) I suppose the reason is that one might block the access panel. I don't feel strongly about this because my U-lock won't work here anyway, but I'd be willing to listen to an argument to change this.
(d) Is this so that people can read the bus timetable? This rule should probably go.
(e) This rule should definitely go
(f) If this is to prevent damage to young trees, or keep bike thieves from cutting down trees to steal bikes, then it makes sense
Maryland has a similar set of laws (paraphrasing)
21-1208 Securing bicycle.. to certain objects. A person may not secure a bicycle to
(a) a fire hydrant, police or fire call box, or traffic control device.
(b) a pole, meter, or device located within a bus or taxi loading zone.
(c) a pole, meter, or device located within 25 feet of an intersection.
(d) a pole, meter or device on which notice has been posted by the appropriate authorities forbidding the securing of bicycles.
(e) any place where the securing of a bicycle or motor scooter would obstruct or impede vehicular traffic or pedestrian movement.
These are all the same as DC's except (d) which makes sense. It doesn't appear that Virginia restricts this on the state level, but perhaps Arlington and Alexandria do.
Of course the best way to keep cyclists from parking in these bad places, is to make sure that good parking is available instead.
Photo by nateOne
The bus (and taxi) zone restriction is probably to keep from impeding loading/unloading.
Posted by: ohmypolarbear | December 17, 2009 at 05:25 PM