Commuting - Getting Better Bicycle Parking Facilities at Your Job

I'm reposting this as a new thread, because I think it's an important topic to consider. Surveys of employees have repeatedly indicated that more people would consider commuting by bicycle if better end-of-trip facilities were available. End-of-trip facilities could be as simple as weather-protected, secure bike racks in a safe location, to a secure bike room in a building or garage, to shower and locker facilities, but the basics consist of safe and secure bike parking. Here's the previous post:

Have any of you advocating getting bike parking facilities at your employer and won? How did you go about it?

First off, the building owners and managers. They provide all those spaces to park motor vehicles, that's costing them something like $20K per space if it's in a parking garage, less but still expensive if it's surface parking; bike racks are both inexpensive and space-efficient. One car space can hold eight to ten bikes. Keep bugging them, and when they break, make sure you get an acceptable facility and not some substandard wheel-bender rack. Go for covered parking and/or lockers if possible.

Second, the local municipality. They almost certainly have building code requirements for the minimum number of motor vehicle parking spaces that need to be provided. They may or may not have similar code requirements for minimum short and long term bike parking spaces. If they don't, lobby for code changes. If they do, but your building doesn't comply, pressure the municipality to do enforcement.

Third, your employer. If they provide free or subsidized parking for those employees who drive, they should damn well reciprocate for those that don't. Especially if you work for a government organization or in a government building. They, of all employers, should know the value of One Less Car on the road, since they are responsible for building and maintaining the roads, and should be fully aware of congestion, maintenance, policing and other management issues.

Whatever the outcome, make sure the bike parking eventually provided meets some sort of standard and it's not just a crappy rack in an unsecure location that is installed as an afterthought.

If you and other commuting cyclists are reasonable in your demands for safe and secure bike parking, and you keep the pressure on, I can almost guarantee that you will eventually get what you are asking for. If the process seems too slow, don't get frustrated, keep at it. If it's really going at a snail's pace, enlist someone supportive from the local media to help you publicize the issue...

Good Luck!

Here's a good resource document for bike parking standards from the Victoria Transport Policy Institute:
http://www.vtpi.org/bikerack.pdf

I work at a satellite office, pretty well park the bike wherever I want. But, our main building is lacking in facilities for bikes. I write for our quarterly newsletter and for the next issue I plan on interviewing our new "director of buildings and stuff" for an article on how to bike commute to HQ, complete with route reviews. I will ask him for details on the facilities currently being provided (close to none) and what to expect in the future. (hopefully big improvement)
Our satellite office has about 25 employess 3 of whom are bike commuters (1- 4 season (me) and 2 - 3 season commuters) Our main building has about 500 employees, I don't know of any that bike commute on a regular basis.

Thanks for reposting my question so it doesn't get buried.

A second, but most critical component of having resources at your workplace for bicycles, is having the resources on the road to bicycle to your job. I imagine there are few people out there who would commute but it's actually too things, not one preventing it - a safe route in, plus secure facilities for the bicycle. In my area, there are very few bike lanes; mostly what you see, if you are lucky are "share the road signs," which mostly mean the road has no shoulder at all. I'm considering writing to my local town supervisor to her include in any new road construction or road improvement projects, the requirement to review the road design to determine if it can be designed to be more inhabitable to cyclists. The road by my house was recently repaved, and the opportunity was lost to include bike lanes its whole lenght - instead, only the original bike lane section (about 1/5 of its entire length) was preserved.

If that step is successful, then you will have more people getting out of their door, who can then collectively lobby at the door of their employer for space. Otherwise, employers will see limited usefulness in providing space, as they are not seeing enough bikes on the streets.

My previous employer had absolutely no interest in supplying even bicycle racks for it's nearly 1,200 employees - despite my requests and suggestions that we could possibly save costs if we had less parking lot space to maintain (snow removal etcetera). In the winter, the "reserved for handicap" sign that I used to lock the bike to would be buried in snow. Sometimes I would go outside to find that the parking lot snow plow had buried my bike in huge waves of snow.

My new employer has a lot of Mexican employees who bicycle, so their is a big bicycle rack and they keep it shovelled in winter. The new employer has very limited parking space, by the way, so every bicycle rider is a blessing. When I ride my bike, I salute the guard man and remind him that my parking space is available for others to use. He always appreciates it.

Whatever the outcome, make sure the bike parking eventually provided meets some sort of standard and it's not just a crappy rack in an unsecure location that is installed as an afterthought.


There is what happens when a bike rack is installed.

1. It's usually hidden in a dark place where vandalism and bike theft are the norm. According to those who install them, the cyclists is not to be seen or looked at in any way. The bike racks when used by many cyclists attract the worse element and you better have a beater bike with $200.00 hundred dollars in locks or everthing will be stolen upon return. Since no one is watching the bike, the crooks scratch your bike and try to break your locks. Don't even think about leaving any accessories attached to the bike.

2. If there is a bike rack, it's usually the inferrior type circa 1975 where the cyclists is supposed to lock only his front wheel. These poor racks provide security space for very few bikes and you're often ordered to squeeze your bike along with all the other junkers! (Do you see why you need a junk bike!)

When NOT to use a bike rack.

1. When it is placed in front of a bus stop where there are plenty of kids and young adults under the age of 17 waiting for public transportation.

2. When you see parts of broken bikes, wheels, broken locks and chains on the floor. This means there is must be a huge number of stolen bikes from that rack that go unreported.

3. When all you see on the rack are junk, rusting old bikes and you have a new Trek.

4. When the rack is old and requires you to only secure the bike with only the front wheel.

5. When the rack has no direct lights above that shine on the bikes at night.

To be totally honest, I generally avoid bike racks where they are placed. I prefer to use the following techniques.

a. If the place is crowded where at least thousands of people work, I'll leave it attached to a pole. (This is a junk bike of course) I leave my junker in a location where there are multiple cameras watching the area.

b. Most of the time, I leave my bike hidden in a location that is off to the side. In other words, the vandals and bike crooks will have to find my bike first.

I just kept locking my bike up in the outside eating area and eventually they installed a bike rike rack there since they knew I was serious about bike commuting after 18 month (either that or so it would look like that is where they wanted people to lock their bikes)! Only employees frequent that area and there is high traffic (a person passes every 30 to 60 seconds I figure), so it would be difficult to steal there.

what do you do about the seats and stuff like that that can be taken off?

What do you do about the seats and stuff like that that can be taken off?

(1) Lock or take everything loose or easily removeable with you (pumps, lights, water bottles, panniers, rack 'trunks', seats, etc.).
(2) Get a locking cable 'leash' for your seat.
(3) Replace the seat post quick-release with a regular bolt or with a Pitlock security skewer (see below)
(4) Replace the wheel quick-releases with skewers that require a hex wrench to open, or with security skewers such as Pitlock: http://www.pitlock.com/ Unfortunately, Pitlock doesn't have an American distributor anymore. They've upgraded the English version of their website, but it's still not that user-friendly and I'm not sure that their website supports on-line purchasing yet...
(5) Alternatively, use two locks - one for each wheel.
(6) Use dynamo lights that bolt on permanently and are harder to remove and are also less desirable to thieves.

I am the only person at my location that commutes. Luckily, my manager lets me park my bicycle right at my desk.

Funny, one of the other managers in the building got so mad when I started commuting and parking my bike at me desk. She wanted it outside!

should i worry about handle bars being stolen? and when i lock up i already lock my fagedaboudit through the back wheel and frame and then a krypto chain with krypto padlock (that damn thing needs a shorter name!) through my fron wheel and frame.. what's missing?

a bike rack is usually hidden in a dark place where vandalism and bike theft are the norm. According to those who install them, the cyclists is not to be seen or looked at in any way. The bike racks when used by many cyclists attract the worse element and you better have a beater bike with $200.00 hundred dollars in locks or everthing will be stolen upon return. If there is a bike rack, it's usually the inferrior type circa 1975 where the cyclists is supposed to lock only his front wheel. These poor racks provide security space for very few bikes and you're often ordered to squeeze your bike along with all the other junkers!

There are fenced cages which require a key, immediately upon entering the closest parking garage, at the hospital, where I work. Inside the bike cages are inverted U posts to lock the bikes. The cyclists have better parking than the doctors. Only handicapped parking is better. That's why I usually lock my bike to a sign, alongside the disabled facilities. This being the tame upper midwest, I've never woried about losing bits and pieces of my bike to thieves( there has to be some consolation for arctic winter weather).

Metropolises are not equal, in providing for cyclists, nor in security for unattended bikes. I wish posters would tell others where they live, to keep these conciderations in prespective.

Dahon.Steve has to deal with NYC, so he's probably the most paranoid and pessimistic one here. Portland has a fair amount of bike and component theft problems, but nowhere near as bad as NYC.

Here's Kryptonite’s Top 10 Worst Cities for Bike Theft in 2001:

1. New York, NY
2. Chicago, IL
3. Miami, FL
4. San Francisco, CA
5. Washington, DC
6. Boston (includes Cambridge, Allston, Somerville)
7. Austin, TX
8. Philadelphia, PA
9. Minneapolis, MN
10. Honolulu, HI

"For the first time Minneapolis, Minnesota was added to the Top 10 List. Honolulu hasn’t been on the list in recent years, but just made the list in tenth this year. Los Angeles, San Diego, Denver and Portland, Oregon police departments have all worked on the theft problems in their cities as is shown by these cities not making a return appearance on the list.

The latest FBI Uniform Crime Report (2000) shows that the average price of the bicycles stolen is $276. With more than 313,469 bicycles reported stolen in 2000, consumers lost well over $86 million to thieves."

Full Story at: http://www.totalbike.com/news/article/703/

Here's the 2000 list:

1. New York, NY
2. Chicago, IL
3. Miami, FL
4. Philadelphia, PA
5. Washington, DC/Baltimore, MD
6. San Francisco, CA (includes Berkeley, Oakland)
7. Boston, MA (includes Cambridge, Somerville)
8. Portland, OR
9. Denver (includes Littleton)
10. (tie) Austin, TX
(tie) Los Angeles, CA
(tie) San Diego, CA

"This year, college town, Tempe, Arizona did not make the list for the first time in many years. Kryptonite attributes this to the University's crime prevention officers working diligently to thwart thieves. Car-friendly Los Angeles and Baltimore were additions to the list becoming cities Kryptonite will be watching closely for growing trends.

The latest FBI Uniform Crime Report (1999) shows that the average price of the bicycles stolen is on the rise. Over 326,000 bicycles were stolen in 1999 with the average price of more than $338. That is well over $110 million lost yearly.

Most bikes are stolen from places where owners think they are safe such as the home, garage, college dormitories and apartment complexes," continued Furst. "Locking properly to a fixed, immovable object such as a parking meter or security anchor is the best way to protect your investment at all times."

Full story at: http://www.totalbike.com/news/article/195/

Dahon.Steve has to deal with NYC, so he's probably the most paranoid and pessimistic one here. Portland has a fair amount of bike and component theft problems, but nowhere near as bad as NYC.

Here's Kryptonite’s Top 10 Worst Cities for Bike Theft in 2001:

1. New York, NY



The above quote is all you need to know why I'm paranoid and pessimistic about bike racks in general. I was going to complain to the train station management about why they did not install a bike rack but not anymore. In fact, I hope they don't put a bike rack as my experience has been very negative. After having my bike vandalized several times on bike racks, I frequently hide the cycle and keep it out of view. A bike rack would force me to lock the bike in the same location every day. Not all locations are created equal and sometimes moving a bike 200 feet makes a remarkable difference in determining if your bike gets vandalized or not! I find a bike rack invites the kids and teenagers to check out the "New Bikes" they can steal! This is why I will NOT fight for a bike rack.

Living in New York City, we have boat loads of stolen bikes sold at auction in Brooklyn every other month. It's incredible how many bikes they auction off in LOTS!!

I have my junk bike living on the streets of New York City 24/7 for the past year. They have tried to steal my bike but that Kryptonite New York Chain and Goran cable have worked their magic so far. Plus it's in one of the most crowded intersection in the city where hundreds of cameras are watching!

My employer installed showers and a bike rack in order to meet some "alternative commuting" standard; I think they receive some sort of tax break. I believe their attempt was a facade; merely the minimum to achieve the tax credit/deduction, but not a genuine attempt to convert commuting choices.

The bike rack was a cheap, front-wheel-only set of brackets installed on a remote side of the building, uncovered, unlit and in the dirt. Since it is uncovered and located in the dirt, the generous rain here in the NW makes it a mudpit that serves to deter rather than attract people willing to wade and retrieve their bike. I refuse to use the rack and park my bike next to my desk and fortunately have received no complaints.

The showers have never been cleaned by any of our cleaning crew since I've been using them over the last 2 years. I have asked several people responsible and they have assured me that they will be cleaned, but have never done so. I, of course, must continue to periodically clean the shower myself.

Not surprisingly, I am the only person of 500 employees that uses a bike to commute.

A short distance down the street, another company (trucking/freight business) installed a covered, fenced, locked area for bicycles in their parking lot. I don't know what, if any, other amenities they offer, but there are at least 20 bikes in the rack every day I have passed their lot.

My employer installed showers and a bike rack in order to meet some "alternative commuting" standard; I think they receive some sort of tax break. I believe their attempt was a facade; merely the minimum to achieve the tax credit/deduction, but not a genuine attempt to convert commuting choices.

I have no doubt that this is true. I have been on several of the City Planning Commission's Bike Parking Task Groups, and the business and development community generally has a very negative view regarding the City Code's bike parking requirements and provisions. In the end, the level of sincerity and committment of any given developer, property owner or business is really the only deciding factor in good, bad or no bike parking facilities.


The bike rack was a cheap, front-wheel-only set of brackets installed on a remote side of the building, uncovered, unlit and in the dirt. Since it is uncovered and located in the dirt, the generous rain here in the NW makes it a mudpit that serves to deter rather than attract people willing to wade and retrieve their bike. I refuse to use the rack and park my bike next to my desk...

The City Code has standards for racks which the rack you are describing does not appear to meet. Unfortunately, the Bureau of Development Services is very generous in granting variances, and BDS enforcement of code violations for bike racks is almost non-existant. However, if the rack was installed in order to reap some sort of tax or other development incentive (taller building, more square footage, etc.), the City SHOULD be checking to see that the rack is in compliance BEFORE allowing whatever concession the developer negotiated for...


A short distance down the street, another company (trucking/freight business) installed a covered, fenced, locked area for bicycles in their parking lot. I don't know what, if any, other amenities they offer, but there are at least 20 bikes in the rack every day I have passed their lot.

Once again, in the end, the level of sincerity and committment of any given business or property owner is really the deciding factor in whether bike parking facilities are good, bad or no-existence.

Having said this, however, I would encourage you to reread my original post to this thread and start agitating and lobbying your employer and the building owner to improve this situation. I'm willing to bet the trucking/freight company only provided good bike parking at the insistence of their cycling employees. I would also encourage you to contact the City and get them involved. PDOT has staff that are working on Bicycle Parking:

Greg Raisman is the bike parking specialist: GregR@trans.ci.portland.or.us
Roger Geller is the bike program coordinator: Roger.Geller@trans.ci.portland.or.us
Web Page: http://www.trans.ci.portland.or.us/bicycles/parkguide.htm

Also contact the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, they had been keeping a file on non-compliant bike parking facilities, and they may have some staff working on this issue, as well: http://www.bta4bikes.org/

PM me if you want to discuss further off line...

man... the bike racks here at school.. al they are is a long slob o concrete with some slits in it for the front wheel and then a lil' metal loop in the ground. i just lay my bike down and tie it with both locks.

Randya,

I now have the PITLOCK skewers for sale in North America. http://www.urbanbiketech.com

Urbanbiketech

Lol would be funny of HQ Global, or whatever they callthemselves with like some 200+ high rises around the world started putting in that stuff.

I park mine in the adjoining office and when i move ill be parking it in my office which for a while will only be co-inhabited by somebody a week or 2 every month or so.

Wow. Reading this thread makes me feel very lucky. As I understand it, the City of Vancouver has building ordinances that require a certain amount of bike space for new commercial buildings. The building I work in complies and for a smallish 5 story building we have around 12 bikes every day in the fenced off bike cage, all year, many more in the nice weather. We also have a very busy shower/change room with lockers and an extra locker room. The other building in the complex has similar facilities and the building manager says the new building they are starting on will have better facililties as a result of the crowding we experience with the current ones.
I guess what it shows it that if you put in the facilities, people will use them.

egads. 2 year old thread.

I'm reposting this as a new thread, because I think it's an important topic to consider. Surveys of employees have repeatedly indicated that more people would consider commuting by bicycle if better end-of-trip facilities were available. End-of-trip facilities could be as simple as weather-protected, secure bike racks in a safe location, to a secure bike room in a building or garage, to shower and locker facilities, but the basics consist of safe and secure bike parking.


What do you do about the seats and stuff like that that can be taken off?

(1) Lock or take everything loose or easily removeable with you (pumps, lights, water bottles, panniers, rack 'trunks', seats, etc.).
(2) Get a locking cable 'leash' for your seat.
(3) Replace the seat post quick-release with a regular bolt or with a Pitlock security skewer (see below)
(4) Replace the wheel quick-releases with skewers that require a hex wrench to open, or with security skewers such as Pitlock: http://www.pitlock.com/ Unfortunately, Pitlock doesn't have an American distributor anymore. They've upgraded the English version of their website, but it's still not that user-friendly and I'm not sure that their website supports on-line purchasing yet...
(5) Alternatively, use two locks - one for each wheel.
(6) Use dynamo lights that bolt on permanently and are harder to remove and are also less desirable to thieves.

Your advocacy fails because the vision is too low. New riders are going to go thru all those steps everytime because biking proponents didn't ask for bike lockers and so got cheapie, vulnernable bike racks. Leave bike racks for grade schools. Everywhere else promote bike lockers. Maintenance need not be an issue, they can be rental lockers. Rental lockers are better than no lockers. If we don't promote less hassle solutions, nothing will happen.

I don't think I've ever even SEEN a bike locker; I might not know what it was if I did. I rarely even see bike racks.
Suggesting a move away from the holy automobile isn't very popular here in S.E. Michigan.

Portland has bike lockers available for rent on a monthly basis, but they are fully subscribed to and there is a waiting list.