Last month, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved the Employee Bicycle Access Bill, which will make it easier for the growing number of people biking to work to bring their bikes into the workplace.
Published: April, 2012
Last month, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved the Employee Bicycle Access Bill, which will make it easier for the growing number of people biking to work to bring their bikes into the workplace. The bill then went to the mayor’s office, where it is expected to be signed into law. Once official, San Francisco will have the strongest bicycle access law in the country.
The Employee Bicycle Access Bill would require the owners of commercial buildings to either provide secure bicycle parking in their buildings or to allow their commercial tenants to bring their bicycles directly into their offices upon request.
Current San Francisco law requires that new commercial buildings include bicycle parking. This new bicycle access legislation ensures that tenants in both new and older buildings have secure parking.
Building owners, employers, commercial real estate agents and bicycle advocates are all lauding the bill as a simple way to provide safe, secure bicycle parking for the growing number of people commuting by bicycle. The Bicycle Access Bill passage comes on the heels of the just-released 2011 SFMTA Bicycle Count Report that showed a dramatic 71 percent increase in the number of people biking in San Francisco in the last five years. Commercial corridors, like Market Street and Townsend Street, saw some of the largest growth.
"This is a great way to ensure secure bicycle parking for the huge and growing number of people biking in San Francisco," said Leah Shahum, executive director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, a 12,000-member nonprofit. "One of the top reasons people cite for not biking to work more often is lack of secure parking for their bike."
The bicycle access legislation has support from building owners and managers across the city who already see providing bicycle parking as a key factor in attracting and keeping quality tenants and encouraging more biking to work.
Nino Rodriguez, commercial property manager of Westfield’s 835 Market Street,knows firsthand how bicycle parking has impacted his building. "Being able to provide a place for employees to park their bikes every day has really had a positive impact on our tenants and their employees. We have many users who ride their bike daily or a few times a week, bring their bikes in the front door and into our storage area. They are happy to have a secure place to keep their bike during the workday."
"This bill is a simple, cost-effective way to help San Francisco businesses meet the growing need for secure bicycle parking that their employees crave, and help San Francisco reach the City’s official goal of 20 percent of trips by bike by 2020," said Supervisor John Avalos, who introduced the bill.
