New guidelines proposed for bike parking
The Fairfax County Department of Transportation is proposing new guidelines on bicycle parking that cover short and long-term parking and acceptable locations and designs of bike parking facilities.
FCDOT is hosting a virtual meeting on the updated guidelines on Tuesday, March 19, at 6 p.m. Join the meeting on Microsoft Teams, the web (meeting ID: 239 217 432 186; passcode: 9XzRNu) or call into the meeting at 571-429-5982 (conference ID: 565 443 221#).
The new guidelines, drafted as part of the ActiveFairfax Transportation Plan, supplement the section on bicycle parking in the recently amended Zoning Ordinance and update the 2017 Bicycle Parking Guidelines.
FCDOT notes that the lack of secure parking is a common barrier to bicycling as a convenient, healthy, affordable, and environmentally friendly alternative to driving. As a result, the agency calls for adequate bicycle parking at residences, places of employment, schools, and wherever car parking is provided.
The 2024 guidelines recommend short-term bike parking – serving places like shops, libraries, and cafes – be located within 50 feet of the entrance, highly visible, and under cover to protect bikes from the elements.
Long-term bike parking – for commuters, employees, and residents – should be designed with security in mind, the report states. Examples of long-term bike parking include bike lockers, cages, and bike rooms accessible with a key, coded lock, or electronic access device. These facilities can be located in parking garages, office buildings, and multifamily residential buildings.
The report includes a matrix with suggested numbers of short and long-term bicycle parking spaces for different kinds of buildings. Urban centers and Transit Station Areas would need more bicycle parking than less dense areas.
Bike racks should be securely anchored to the ground and should support the bicycle in at least two places, the report recommends. They should also provide multiple points of locking that secure the frame and one or both wheels.
How about Fairfax enforce the existing laws first. Like 20 cars parking in the bike lane on Carlin Springs off of Columbia Pike. Or the multiple illegal boarding houses in Mason. I could go on but pretty soon Fairfax and Mason will just be another D.C, or maybe worse…
We have a “justice focused” DA, and according to Yes We Can!!, that means we voted for this type of stuff. So, enjoy.
Excellent comment Jacques!
Yes, we need to be honest with ourselves. “Enforcing the Existing Laws” was not the top voting getting issue during last year’s local elections.
There should be no surprise Mason District’s newly elected Supervisor is focused on the issues and topics of importance to the majority of voters who by a wide margin voted him into office.
Basically, the Democrat primary was the general election; and in that election, Mr. Jimenez’s strong local presence plus the support of National Democrat icons like the patriotic Jane Fonda (that’s my recollection) was more than enough to defeat the opposition.
While I did not vote for Mr. Jimenez, he is now my Supervisor, and I support him wholeheartedly and wish him great success.
Is the county paying for all these “nice to have” standards? I don’t think so, rather impose it on private sector owners. If there was real demand for these “bike improvements” then private sector would do it. Fairfax is going to be car dependent & dominant for the foreseeable future. It’s just not practical today for most of the residents to get around by bike. Grocery shopping, go to from work, get kids to their school &/or activities, go to church, etc. Between the distances involved and sweaty aftermath, suburban Fairfax is car land, not bike land. Embrace the car and find ways to make that work better for everyone is a better use of planning and resources.
Yes. My multiple Home Depot runs every weekend would be difficult via bicycle. Can’t fit sheets of 4×8’ osb and 20 2x4s on my handlebars.
Also – “lack of secure parking” is not the main reason people don’t ride bikes. Give me a break. If you can’t find a tree or a pole to lock your bike to, maybe you don’t have the sense to ride on 2 wheels.
Ironically, the only times my bike has been pilfered of its seat and rack was when it was locked to “secure bike racks” monitored by cameras at the metro. There was zero recourse each time it happened. (Using the bike lockers is prohibitively expensive. And then there’s the bad weather. I ended up just driving to work.)
If thieves know where all the bikes will be, they’re much more likely to target that area and look for low hanging fruit because there’s a greater chance of success. I’d rather have my bike cable locked to a tree in the middle of an open area, where I can see it from inside a building.
Improvements in bicycling standards are, for the many who do or would want to bicycle, not just. “nice to have” but essential. Just like businesses want sufficient parking to allow for their clients who drive, recognizing that a growing sector of our population prefers to ride a bicycle is just common sense. In no case are these standards seeking to meet the needs of “most of the residents” – just provide adequate and secure locations for the percentage that do use bicycles. In places with adequate infrastructure for bicycling, a meaningful number of citizens DO go to work, go grocery shopping, and go to church via two wheels instead of four. It saves money, it is healthier, and it is better for your environment.
Why do you think a growing % of the population wants to ride bikes?
Good point I do not think it is a great plan to encourage Seniors to hop on two wheels in traffic, maybe a rural bike lane as opposed to the bike lanes inside the beltway which seem at times to be a Grand Prix filled with thrill seekers. Also weekends on our Bike Trails in Falls Church and Arlington are a thrill indeed.
I agree with you Douglass!!!
As a 60+ young at heart person, based on past experiences I am scared to bicycle on trails full of maniacs on two wheels (cyclists) who appear to be racing with the intent to scare pedestrians and slower cyclists out of their minds!
To James Albright’s point, I implore Fairfax County’s Supervisors to invest money into developing separate tricycle paths for both children, and the elderly young at heart, so they can safely get their physical exercise while also running their local errands using people-power. This will play a small but meaningful part in saving the world from catastrophic global warming.
Just as in movie “Field of Dreams,” if the infrastructure is built, people will use it. But it will all go for naught if aggressive, bordering on psychotic, cyclists are not kept off these paths.
Whether or not you want it, Fairfax County is deploying Bikeshare region by region in Fairfax County. Annandale may be among the last to see Bikeshare, but once here, we will see a steady increase in the big red slow bicycles in the near future.
If the trend from DC, Arlington, and other areas holds, the Bikeshare presence will lead to a steady increase in the number of bicyclists generally in subsequent years. An increased number of bicycle riders is probably coming, whether our lousy infrastructure is ready or not. It sure would be nice if we had pedestrian/bicycle friendly sidepaths along Little River Turnpike, just to mention one effort.
What you’re going to see is a lot of homeless and petty criminals on bikes.
Yes, I’m sure the homeless and petty criminals are just waiting for bike infrastructure to be installed.
If you want to know what not to do, look at trends in Arlington – which mimic trends in DC – which mimic trends in San Francisco, which is becoming uninhabitable.
Excellent comment, John! I think the people of Annandale should join Arlington and support with public funding the effort to go on a “Car-Free Diet.”
I think that before Annandale does that, the people of Annandale should declare their independence from Fairfax County and form their own independent government. At that point, Annandale may decide (if they gain permission from the State Legislature) to impose surcharges (“congestion pricing”) for those who decide to drive their cars in downtown Annandale during its congestion hours.
Because looking around Fairfax County (I am forced to drive around Fairfax County a lot, because of its lack of tricycle infrastructure) I see very few of these big slow red bikes you refer to.
Oh, I do see people using those red bikes when I visit DC (though not by the petty criminals or homeless, they generally prefer to use their own two feet for the most part), but not in Fairfax County.