Interesting article on the new bicycle parking regulations in NYC
Unfortunately this doesn't help a lot of people who are in buildings too small to have freight elevators.
I thought they made an interesting link between creative industries and desire for bike parking.
In our building (too small to have a freight elevator, but I just come up the regular elevator) there are two companies with several bike commuters, my office (architects and industrial designers) and an office of landscape architects upstairs.
I don't think that people in creative industries are inherently more likely to bike (my Dad, who introduced me to commuting is an engineer) but there's just a more relaxed, and maybe more progressive corporate culture that supports bicycling. Doesn't hurt that my boss races mountain bikes and does cyclecross.
Evidently the official building management company doesn't want us to bring our bikes in. One of my co-workers was told they couldn't bring their bike in one day by an offsite manager who happened to be in the lobby one day. But since we don't have a security desk, and the day to day staff don't seem to care- so far so good.
Although I see a lot of bikes parked in the same spots every day, I'd be nervous if I had to park my bike outside every day.
I'm curious where other people who read this park their bikes at work?
Have you had your bike damaged or stolen?
I'm very lucky to work for myself... so I park my bike next to my desk! I'm not convinced the landlord loves it, but I have not asked his opinion and don't intend to.
ReplyDeleteNot sure if it's a good idea for the whole day or not, but I often park in front of cafés, because the owner of a bicycle parked in front of a café might come out at any second...
ReplyDeleteI am supremely paranoid about parking my (nice) bike. It lives in a fairly secure environment at work, but if my place of employment somehow prevented bikes from being stored in a secure manner, I imagine I would aim to change that by engaging the right people, and, failing that would consider alternatives. I would not be able to leave a nice bike parked insecurely for long stretches at a time. And riding a beater to work further degrades the quality of life--is it worth it?
ReplyDeleteBike parking at work sure presents some moral challenges. :)
I usually park my bike outside next to the buildling at a rack or on a sign if available. I've been given permission to bring my bike inside if the weather is bad and I can put it in a locked storage room. I worried about my seat getting stolen when I first bought the Expedition since it has a very attractive seat but had the quick release removed to make it more difficult to steal. A friend of mine had his seat stolen when he left his bike overnight at our building so I would be very wary of leaving my bike any place that did not see a lot of regular foot traffic.
ReplyDeletemy company provides its employees with a secure bike cage next to the parking garage. it's small and often gets filled beyond capacity in the summer, but it does provide a lot of light, security and rain cover!
ReplyDeletei've lived in the boston area for a total of 12 years with a bike, and i've never had one stolen or tampered with. (but of those years, only six were spent with me actively using my bike!)
"my Dad . . . is an engineer"
ReplyDeleteEngineering is a creative industry.
I imagine parking a bike gets much harder in the winter when meters and buried and everything near the road is destroyed by plows. I wish the city provided some secure bike parking more often than I want any other bike infrastructure. The existing roads are good enough for me.
ReplyDeleteI don't recommend parking outside in Boston in the winter. So many bad things happen to a bike outside.
ReplyDeleteI think you have to put pressure on the building management. There must be a solution.