Developers providing better bike parking

According to the Wall Street Journal article Developers Build Luxury, Bike-Friendly Buildings, with the surging popularity of biking, some developers are finally providing state of the art bike parking for their tenants. All too often bike parking provided by developers has been inferior, both in quantity and quality. It's encouraging to see that some developers realize that in order to attract cyclists, they need to provide much better bike parking.

A bike valet will offer tuneups and tire changes to spandex-clad commuters and residents at Hassalo on Eighth, a multiuse residential and office complex in Portland, Ore., expected to be completed next year. At the new Vélo North Loop, a high-end rental building in Minneapolis, tenants can use the "bike kitchen"—a bicycle repair area with tire pumps and spare chain links, as well as a bike wash. A shop with trail maps and energy bars is in the works. The Cliffs, a series of golf-resort communities in North and South Carolina, has enlisted a 17-time Tour de France rider to offer group rides for homeowners and potential buyers through the surrounding countryside of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Other than in Tysons, Fairfax County does not yet have bicycle parking guidelines. As we've noted many, many times before, the county has been working on developing bike parking guidelines since 2007.  Even when those guidelines are approved, the requirements are minimal. Let's hope market forces, i.e. tenants who demand better bike parking, will lead to developers understanding the importance of quality bike parking.

See an earlier article in the Post about good bike parking in DC area apartment buildings.