Bike Parking Basics

This page is intended to give you the basics of bike parking – why it’s important and how to do it right.


 

Bike Parking – Important for Your Business.

Bike parking is an inexpensive way to increase customer access to your business.

More and more people are bicycling  – While you might not know that customers are biking to your business, likely many are and through providing quality and convenient bike parking you’ll increase access to these customers and add more potential customers. Over 5,000 O‘ahu residents use a bicycle as their primary way to get to and from work. And many more bicycle for fun, exercise, and to run errands near their homes.

Yes, people do bicycle to the store – You might question whether people are really going to go shopping and then carry purchased items home on their bike, but they definitely do. Studies have soon that people on bikes buy less each trip than drivers, but they shop they come back more often (study link).

Bike Parking is Cost and Space Efficient – Bike parking can be installed for relatively low costs and often can be sited without displacing car parking or other uses.  Even when replacing car parking is necessary, you get to trade 1 car parking space for 10 bike parking spaces.

Request short-term bicycle parking
If you would like a bicycle rack installed at a private facility (such as a business or office), please request one from the property owner or business. For areas with high demand, if convenient bicycle parking cannot be provided by the business due to architectural restrictions, the City can provide parking in the public right-of-way if the location meets the City’s bike parking guidelines. Prior to requesting for a public bicycle rack, please read the guidelines to determine if the location is suitable.

City guidelines for public bicycle racks

  • There must be an existing concrete sidewalk of approximately eight feet wide. This is to ensure minimum pedestrian clearance when a bicycle is parked on the rack.  
  • Racks cannot be placed near fire hydrants, parking meters, door zones, utility boxes, or other areas that are accessed by people. 

If the proposed location meets the criteria above, please contact the City Bicycle Coordinator at csayers@honolulu.gov or (808) 768-8335.

Ordinance 17-55 established bicycle parking requirements in the Land Use Ordinance for Apartment (A), Apartment Mixed Use (AMX), Business (B), and Business Mixed Use (BMX) Zoning Districts. Learn more about the detailed requirements of Section 21-6.150 in the Land Use Ordinance by clicking here.

Bike Parking – How to Do It Right

Location, location, location – Siting is probably the most important thing to get right. There are several items to consider:

  • Bike parking should be located near the entrance (not in some back corner) for convenience and so it’s easy for customers to find it.
  • Locating bike parking near the entrance also provides for “natural” surveillance, whereas a hidden, back corner spot invites theft.
  • If possible, bike parking under an awning or other cover is always appreciated to protect your customers bike from the weather.

Bike rack type – The ideal bike rack should 2-points of contact, which allows for a cyclists to lock the bike frame and wheels and this prevents bikes from falling. The “inverted-U” rack is ideal.

Bike rack installation – Bike racks should be fastened to the ground or another fixed item. If this isn’t possible, a high visibility location for natural surveillance is even more important.

Purchasing bike racks – HBL sells Dero Hoop racks (a type of “inverted-U” rack) – click here for full product details. The price is $200 per rack. Contact bicycle@HBL.org for details on ordering. You can also order bike racks from several companies providing various bike racks designs and equipment – note that for small shipments the shipping cost tends to be prohibitive.

Click the button below for a map of all current bicycle racks on O‘ahu installed on by the City & County of Honolulu.

Location

Honolulu example of exemplary siting. Bike parking is near the store entrance, partially covered, and in the high visibility area.

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car shaped bike corral Ottawa_clipped

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» Click here for an in-depth guide “Essentials of Bike Parking” guide provided by the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals.