New racks at H.D. Cooke Elementary. Photo by Nancy Shia.
The H.D. Cooke Elementary School in Adams Morgan was just renovated, with an addition containing a gym and cafetorium, a modernized library and media center, new playing fields and more. The renovation also included some bicycle racks. Unfortunately, parents, staff and students discovered that the racks were installed too close together and too close to the wall, limiting the ability of cyclists to lock their bikes securely and to fit many bikes on the racks.
ANC Commissioner Nancy Shia sent along these photos of the bike rack. They use the inverted U design, which is a good type of rack. However, they don't comply with DDOT's standards for bike rack placement. When racks line up against a wall, as they are here, the standards require the edge closest to the wall to be at least 2 feet away, and DDOT recommends 3 feet. These racks are only 18 inches from the wall, which makes it impossible for some cyclists to lock the front and back wheels to the rack if they so choose.
Worse, the racks are only about 11 inches apart, measured from the center of one to the center of the other. DDOT's standards require 30 inches. Widely spaced racks allow two bicycles per U, one on each side, whereas this spacing only accommodates one. And, with the narrow spacing, the handlebars of one bicycle conflict with those on either side.
Left: The racks are 18 inches from the wall. Right: They are only 11 inches apart.
Click on an image to enlarge. Photos by Nancy Shia.
WABA's Eric Gilliland said, "We all want DC kids to be more active and installing bike parking at elementary schools is a good start. However, for the bike parking to be effective the right type of rack needs to be selected and installed correctly. The intent here is good, but the execution leaves a bit to be desired."
The good news is that the racks are close to the entrance. The DDOT standards require placing racks within 120 feet, and preferably within 50 feet; these look to be about three feet away from the door area. That's great, as more prominent racks ensure people know about them, and if the entrance sees regular foot traffic, makes it harder to steal bikes unnoticed.
The Cooke renovation designers had the right idea in including racks, but either the architects or the contractors failed to read the instructions. Hopefully Cooke can get the racks moved quickly.
They say put bike racks close to the building, but this is ridiculous.
At a camp I visited where about 300 kids rode their bikes and parked every day, the old fashioned slot racks worked well. The bikes had kickstands and didn't need to be locked. That kind of rack can fit lots of bikes in a small space... not one per slot, but you could pick the closest slot that wasn't blocked. But they're terrible if you have a full sized bike with no kickstand.
Posted by: Jack | August 30, 2009 at 04:23 PM
We had a similar problem with the bike racks in the garage where I work. Our building services people kept putting them (the old fashioned kind) up against a wall. It drove the cyclists who used it up against a wall too. After several years of complaining one of our commuters advised the head of building services that the configuration of the racks was unsafe and that there would be hell to pay if someone got hurt trying to deal with his stupid bike rack set up. The next day the racks were moved elsewhere in the garage and placed perpendicular to a wall. Problem solved. How hard is it to figure this stuff out?!
Posted by: John | August 31, 2009 at 03:19 PM