Bicycle Parking in the Market

[Mystic Point]

Does anyone know why there is such a shortage of Bicycling Parking in Kensington Market?

 

[299 bloor call control.]

There's a shortage in bike parking everywhere in the city.

 

[confusion]

Agreed. City needs to act on this.

 

[vic]

Kensington might be the ideal place to try something like this:
http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/08/15/corrals-and-oases-bike-parking-in-portland/

....where they replace one or more car parking spots with MANY bike parking spots. Same amount of overall parking space consumed, but accommodating many more vehicles, and without taking sidewalk space away from pedestrians (which is already very narrow in the market).

 

[CDL.TO]

Kensington might be the ideal place to try something like this:
http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/08/15/corrals-and-oases-bike-parking-in-portland/

....where they replace one or more car parking spots with MANY bike parking spots. Same amount of overall parking space consumed, but accommodating many more vehicles, and without taking sidewalk space away from pedestrians (which is already very narrow in the market).

I think that would be an excellent solution for the market. There's definitely space for it (as illustrated by the "green car" installation).

 

[Mystic Point]

Brilliant. We could use Parking Swaps in the Market, College, Bloor, Queen, Ossington, Church Street etc. Great thinking. Does anyone know who to take this idea to?

City Hall is ass. Who handles ideas like this?

​

 

[Northern Light]

Great idea, but....

Great idea, particularly for areas like Kensington Market.

However, it would not work on most major streets downtown, as the parking goes away in rush hour.

So you couldn't have any physical infrastructure to lock bikes to, unless it was removable by staff at 7-9am or 4-6pm, (a bit impractical).

But perfect for side streets, or anywhere that parking is all-day.

****

The head of cycling for the City is Dan Egan, you can share your idea with him, or the Mayor or your City Councillor.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Why spend more real estate for motor vehicle parking than for bicycle parking?

Especially since bicycles will take up less real estate and allow for more people that what would fit into the motor vehicle. (And don't forget about the aisle space above.)

 

[TrickyRicky]

^That picture is pretty funny. If that is the bike parking option count me out, I'll just walk or drive.

 

[mark.]

I was just talking to someone in Kensignton Market about this. He told me that ring-and-posts are installed at the request (and payment) of a store-owner and that he had asked his boss to get some installed in front of their shop. But his boss felt that if they put ring-and-posts for their customers, they would immediately "fill up with bikes."

However, this is not really the case. The website for the city states that "Post & Ring Stands" are free and will be installed at the request of anyone...
See:
http://www.toronto.ca/cycling/postandring.htm

 

[W. K. Lis]

New Portland grocery store has more parking for bikes than cars

From grist.org:

Know Your Customers
New Seasons, an upscale Whole Foods-style grocery store that has enjoyed massive success in Portland, Oregon, is opening its seventh store this week. The newest store, in the dense (watch the web cam to see how dense) inner-city Hawthorne Street neighborhood, has something of a surprise. Rooftop parking for cars, and rows of bright blue staples in front of the store for bicycles. Well, perhaps that's not so incredible. What makes it much better is that according to Bike Portland, the sum total of bike spots (50) outnumbers the slim number of car parking spaces (36).

Already during the planning and design of its seventh store, New Seasons knew that it would have to get creative to deal with the extremely dense urban corner that 41st and Hawthorne is, to get along with the city and the neighbors. An earlier store nearby in the Ladd's neighborhood has generated a lot of complaints as the parking lot is narrow and nearly always jam packed, and the traffic patterns to and from the store are egregious.

So in addition to providing only the 36 parking spaces, the store is going above and beyond the norm with its bike parking staples, hoping to encourage people to use alternative transport to the store. The market considered doing its own bike sharing service (now that would have been innovative) at the store to help people have another alternative way to get their groceries home, but rejected it for the time being as too expensive.

Instead, shoppers are invited to freely borrow either a big wagon from a pair parked next to the flower display, or roll home a sort of dolly cart. There's also the option of having groceries delivered (though not by bike but by van).

Some people are predicting that the generous bike parking and cart amenities will do little to stop a snarl of traffic at this location.

Because parking is such an integral part of sprawl, here's some fun fast facts from Streetsblog on what we give up for the almighty car:

1) 99% of U.S. car trips begin and end with a free parking spot.
2) The average car is parked 95% of its time.
3) Office space typically requires 175 to 250 square feet per person. In comparison, curbside parking requires 200 square feet per vehicle, and garages require 300 to 350 square feet per vehicle.

And lastly, from bicycleuniverse - Seven to twelve bicycles can park in one automobile space.