Council to contemplate new bike parking rules this Thursday

Changes to the city’s bicycle parking requirements are headed back to City Council on Thursday with the blessing of the Planning Commission.

Commissioners were updated on the code amendments at their most recent meeting. The recent elimination of parking requirements citywide did not impact requirements for bicycle parking. However, it did prod the Urban Transportation Commission to recommend a new set of regulations that were taken up by Council in November, with Council voting to initiate changes that would mandate a minimum of two spaces or 10 percent of motor vehicle spaces for commercial buildings; a minimum of five spaces or 10 percent for multifamily developments; no parking requirements for single- or two-family projects; and a minimum of one space or 10 percent of motor vehicle spaces for all other uses, deferring to the greater number of bicycle parking spaces in all cases. 

According to a presentation by Cole Kitten, the systems development division manager at the Transportation and Public Works Department, the new standards are recommended by city staff “to create consistency between modal split goals and built environment and to simplify bicycle parking requirements.” 

Commissioner Ryan Johnson questioned the formula used in the proposed code amendments, specifically the wisdom of tying the changes to parking requirements that are being phased out.

“As the number of parking spaces provided in developments goes down over time, this would have the effect of also reducing the number of bicycle parking spaces, which would sort of directly conflict with (city) mode-share goals,” he said. “I’m curious what the reasoning behind continuing to tie bicycle parking to vehicle parking is, instead of just simply moving to a number or numerical requirement based on some other factor.”

Kitten explained modifying parking wasn’t “an exact science” but the Urban Transportation Commission had come up with a ratio of parking based on mode-share goals set by the city – about one space for every vehicle space.

“To be able to quantify an exact bicycle parking requirement for every land use possible is equally as difficult and impractical as the current philosophy was on parking requirements for motor vehicles,” Kitten said.

The code amendments have also been updated to clarify the shower and changing room requirements for larger projects, as the recommendation’s language was not gender-neutral previously. 

“I really appreciate staff working on having some gender-inclusive language included,” said Commissioner Awais Azhar. “When we’re talking about single-stall or single-occupant use it supports a lot of different people who might have different needs – people who might need caretakers, folks who might need to be in the position where they’re taking care of children. … It’s inclusive of my religious beliefs.”

“As much as it expands gender inclusivity, it really expands inclusivity across the board,” he said.

Prior to the vote, Johnson spoke in support of the recommendation, despite calling it a “short-term fix” to a bigger problem and saying the requirements didn’t go far enough. 

“I would like to see this tripling the percentage of required bike parking spaces instead of doubling,” he said. “I think it’s important that we continue to fix these technical issues in the code. I think this is one example among many of why we need a new code in the city. … Clearly, our Land Development Code is showing its age in very bad ways.”

The Planning Commission voted 11-0 to support staff’s recommendation, with Commissioner Adam Haynes abstaining from the vote. The changes are scheduled to return to Council on Thursday, Feb. 1, for a public hearing. 

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