The Madison Bike Parking Hall of Shame
When bike parking goes bad
Over the last few years, the cycling community in Madison has seen many positive developments in the local biking scene. These include the implementation of the new bike sharing program, the proposal for the new Cannonball Path, new bike boxes, new bicycle boulevards, and other improvements.
But let’s take a look at a darker side of the bicycling scene in Madison: bad bicycle parking.
Bad bicycle parking can lead to bicycle theft, inconvenience for pedestrians, parking shortages for cyclists, impedance of access for the handicapped, and damage to street trees. More generally, it can make Madison’s streets a little less beautiful.
Bad bicycle parking can come in many forms: unlocked bikes, abandoned bikes, bike rack hogs, bikes locked to trees, bikes blocking staircases, or even bikes locked to other bikes. It isn’t hard to find parked bicycles in Madison that are in violation of the city’s ordinances (see Section 12.76) or the city’s bike locking recommendations.
Some cases of bad bicycle parking seem to be the result of an inconsiderate cyclist. Others can cast a wider, vaguer net of complicity. Consider the places around town where the bike racks offered are inadequate, where the abandoned bikes have not been removed and clog the existing spots, or where there are no legal places to secure a bike.
Take a look below at the Madison Bike Parking Hall of Shame and get a sense of what bad bicycle parking looks like.
Is an abandoned bike is putting a cramp in your commute? Is a poorly parked bike putting your favorite street tree at risk? Be sure to notify the city or the university so that the bike can be tagged for removal.
Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer
Want to suggest other inductees to the hall of shame? Please send your photos to editor@madisoncommons.org
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Comments
Problem with left u-locks
No doubt that it would take relatively little effort to vastly improve bike parking supply and bike parking rack quality. This photo essay is as much about individual use of bike racks as it is about our community's planning and management of bike parking. Many of these photos were taken in front of newly developed apartment complexes, which have little excuse for such inadequate allowance of parking in the site design.
That bike with the distorted rims, for example, should have been cleared away by the city long ago. I can only guess it got that damage over the winter while packed in snow when a plow drove by? Since that photo was taken in late July, that would mean it's been in that condition for half a year without being removed.
One point of clarification regarding the pic of unsecured bike parked next to locked u-lock. I assumed that lock belonged to the same person as the ~$300 unlocked bike it was next to. Could be wrong.
Your point about the harmlessness of u-locks left behind is well-taken but certainly debatable in the cycling community. No one needs to be convinced that this practice is convenient for the lock's owner. However, I've seen other forums where the acceptability of this practice is called into question for various reasons.
The lock pictured, for example, has been there for a long time and is never in use. It is likely an abandoned lock. Eventually somebody on public payroll will have to exert a bit of labor to get that lock removed. There is also the "what if everybody did that?" question to consider. The lock pictured occupying the "D" of the "hanging D" style rack will need to be moved or held out of the way before the space can be taken.
Personally, I prefer that if people leave their locks behind, that they move them to the bottom of the rack, or somewhere else where the next user doesn't have to mess with it at all. The gallery picture isn't an example of this, but when u-locks are left on the upper portion of "wheel bender" racks, they literally can prevent a wheel from fitting into the rack.
The real shame is lack of adequate parking for bicycles
A few cyclists have a lot to learn about securing a bicycle, but the most pressing issue shown in the photos is lack of adequate bicycle parking facilities. The expense and space required for one automobile parking spot equates to parking for at least ten bicycles. The photo essay also shows "wheel bender" racks-- based on designs from the 19th century, when bike wheels were made of steel-- which not only damage bicycles, but make it difficult to secure the bike properly with a u-lock through the rear wheel and triangle. Bike parking should never be a problem, but it's a problem almost everywhere, even when a rack is provided.
It's worth mentioning that the two photos showing "shameful" u-lock usage aren't really problems. Bicycle commuters often leave a u-lock behind on the rack, rather than haul it back and forth every day. Lug a 5-pound lock on 20 miles of a round-trip commute every day, and you negate the advantage of buying a light and costly bicycle instead of a cheap and heavy one. (If the weight difference doesn't seem like much, drop a 5 pound dumbell into your backpack, with all of your other stuff, and see how you like hauling it around every day.)
The point is that a u-lock, left behind on the rack, doesn't prevent someone else from taking that spot, which probably is the case in the photo showing an unsecured bike parked next to a locked u-lock. The u-lock owner, upon finding someone else in that spot, can always remove the lock and take it elsewhere.
Ryan Reasons
Cranks-On-Cam.com