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Bike rack (Photo by via the LAist Featured Photos pool)
It took a long time but the Los Angeles City Council has passed an ordinance that will dramatically increase the number of parking spaces for bikes in new developments.
The Bike Parking Ordinance will allow new developments—both residential and commercial—to swap some parking spots for bikes in lieu of parking spots for cars. There are also rules standardizing bike parking space to ensure that they’re safe, secure and accessible.
One car spot can be replaced by four bikes for up to 30 percent of the required number of spaces for commercial developments that are near transit lines. At other commercial buildings not near transit lines, the number is 20 percent. For buildings with less than 20 required car parking spaces, up to 4 parking spaces may be swapped for bike parking. Residential buildings can replace up to 10 percent of car spaces with bike parking.
All new developments with few exceptions will need to have at least 2 parking spaces for bikes, and that can include the city’s bike corrals. The ordinance also has rules about what can and cannot be considered a parking spot. Spaces should be well-lit and easily accessible from the street. Short-term parking should be outside the building and easy to spot before you even walk in. There should be signs directing people to long-term parking, if it’s not immediately obvious where it is.
For more information, you can read the full ordinance (h/t Curbed LA and Streetsblog).