Include Indoor Bike Parking in Zoning Regulations

City Planning should make a citywide zoning change requiring indoor bike parking in all new commercial buildings. Proposing changes in small areas, such as Downtown Brooklyn, which is a tiny section of NYC, is extremely inefficient.

According to the department of City Planning, the lack of secure bike parking is the biggest deterrent to potential bike commuters. Thus, guaranteeing secure bike parking is the most effective way to get more people to bike to work. 

The City Planning Board can change zoning regulations to require indoor bike parking. Its 2001 re-zoning of Long Island City, Queens made "enclosed, accessible and secure" bike parking a requirement in new commercial developments. Now, T.A. is working with City Planning's Brooklyn office to ensure that Downtown Brooklyn's re-zoning includes requirements for secure indoor bike parking in new commercial developments.

Instead of working neighborhood by neighborhood, City Planning should make a citywide zoning change requiring indoor bike parking in all new commercial buildings. Its 1999 "Bicycle Parking Needs Study" recommends making "bicycle parking an 'as-of-right' requirement for all new buildings proposed for high density districts." This means that new buildings conforming to existing zoning would have to include bike parking. New York could look to San Francisco, where the City Planning Code requires that new and renovated commercial buildings and all garages provide indoor bike parking.

Write to:
Amanda Burden
Director, NYC DCP
22 Reade Street
New York, NY 10007-1216
www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/maildcp.html    

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