Steven Can Plan
How can you tell the bad and good of bike parking?
By inspecting a few examples! Check out my photos and descriptions of good and bad bike racks and parking spaces. I took all photos of bike parking in Chicago, Illinois, except where otherwise noted. I’m the expert because I’ve installed hundreds of bike racks for my employer, where I also developed an innovative web application, and I’ve locked up to to so many bike racks over the past four years I’ve lived here.
Good
Bike parking is best installed within view of a business entrance, and within 50 feet. If the bike parking is too far away, bicyclists tend to lock their bike to the closest object which isn’t as suitable as a heavy duty U-rack. The U-rack is a great bike rack: it supports the bicycle at two points (no kickstand or juggling necessary) and and users can lock the wheels and frame easily; square tube is best. See the action at Kuma’s Corner, in Chicago, Illinois.
Near the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, bicycle riders will spot these decorative, but still useful, bike racks in front of a large office building. The post and ring style can still accommodate locking the front wheel and frame. Users should use a second cable or lock to grab that rear wheel.
Indoor bike parking is always the best! This surface-mounted U-racks (arranged in a parallel series on rails) and the wall-mounted bike rack provide multiple options at the Skokie Yellow Line station in Skokie, Illinois. When installing wall-mounted bike racks, always install surface-mounted bike racks because some bicycle riders cannot lift their bikes.
See plenty more examples on my Flickr. UPDATE: Check out John Luton’s collection, Bicycle parking 101.
Bad
![Array](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3341/3297893049_88f259ac40.jpg "Bike racks must be at least 3 feet away from other obstructions, like this curb at the bottom of the wall. Also, note the corner: You can't park bikes on both racks at the same time. Thankfully, since <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesbondsv/2802195870/in/set-72157606011911698/\">a truck always blocks this area</a>, no one will use it. They can use the Home Depot's "decorative" fence on the sidewalk, or the remaining parking meters.
As you can see, I cannot lock my bike the way this rack is intended because the curb prevents the proper positioning of the bike. Because of this rack's poor siting and installation, it may induce some cyclists to only lock the front wheel.")
It’s hard to tell, but this round-tube wave rack is installed too close to the curb at the base of this wall, preventing a bicycle rider from using a U-lock to grab the bike rack, front wheel and frame. Most bike rack types should be installed at least 3 feet from any obstructing object.
![Array](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3136/2890541494_2f86a01665.jpg "The bike rack was "designed" to hold more than 10 bicycles. As you can see, it really only holds 4.
Jewel gives us a perfect example of poorly implemented bike parking. There at least two things wrong here:
First, the rack type used. Grill or elementary school racks can only lock the front wheel to the rack, leaving the frame and rear wheel vulnerable. Because of this, knowledgeable cyclists are forced to lock their bikes parallel to the rack, thus reducing the total number of available bike parking spaces.
Second, the rack is placed too close to the roadway so cyclists can't use the grill rack adaption locking method - hanging the front wheel over the rack so as to lock the front wheel AND the frame.
Jewel could easily remedy the bike parking here by removing this rack and installing a 5-hump wave rack (for at least 6 bikes) at least 36 inches from the curb, or install 4 inverted-U racks parallel to the curb, 30 inches from the curb. I would recommend inverted-U racks for this because that rack can prop up all the whole bike so cyclists can load and unload their cargo with ease.
This is private property.")
The grill rack (typically seen at elementary and middle schools) is the worst bike rack available. Bicycles fall over. The design prevents users from locking their frame and front wheel to the bike rack. The tubes for locking have a very narrow diameter and thickness. This photo shows the odd ways people use the grill rack – thankfully, everyone locked their bicycles correctly, but not according to the bike rack’s design!
A garbage bin is not a good place to lock a bicycle. The bicycle will likely be in the way of pedestrians or people who want to throw away garbage. Also, as you can see in the photo, bicycle riders can only lock the frame to the garbage bin. This particular location is a strip mall in Chicago, Illinois, that does not provide any bike parking for the thousands of customers each day (a small portion of which would like to ride their bicycles).
There might be more examples of bad bike parking than good. See more photos here. UPDATE: Check out John Luton’s collection, Bicycle parking 101.
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About Steven Can Plan
I started this blog in 2007 as the writing assignment for an introductory urban planning class at UIC. It's about cities (mainly Chicago), GIS oftentimes, and transportation (mainly bicycling). Learn more about me, Steven Vance. I also write for Grid Chicago.
Steven Can Plan is hosted on Dreamhost.
Highly Recommended Bike Products
Planet Bike SuperFlash taillight
The best value taillight. It has three red LEDs that alternate and provide extreme brightness. I have two of these.
Detours Toocan utility pannier
I've used this pannier to carry groceries, books, my laptop, clothing, anything. I like it because it's stylish (but also "normal" looking at the same time), stands up on its own, is extremely durable, and has the most universal attachment system: two hooks.
So far I haven't had a flat with this tire. I've used Continental Gatorskin and Panaracer T-Serv, both of which have had flats (same Chicago streets). The Gatorskin has less tread than both, and wears to a slick surface faster.
Photos
Books
The Death and Life of Great American Cities (50th Anniversary Edition) (Modern Library) by Jane Jacobs
Instant City: Life and Death in Karachi by Steve Inskeep
I reviewed this book that the publisher sent to me.
Sustainable Transportation Planning: Tools for Creating Vibrant, Healthy, and Resilient Communities (Wiley Series in Sustainable Design) by Jeffrey Tumlin
I was sent a review copy. I'm really excited to open it up and start reading because I've been disappointed with textbooks in the past that don't focus on bicycle and pedestrian planning.
Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us) by Tom Vanderbilt
As someone who doesn't like driving, but believes that cars can be efficient in moving groups of people and goods, this is my favorite book.
The Practice of Local Government Planning (Municipal Management Series) by
You could basically design and administer a new town kind of effectively after reading this huge and boring textbook.
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