All Dressed Up With No Place to Park

When I get to my destination, oftentimes all that feeling turns into frustration. Frustration because of parking.

Motorists
are quite vocal about their rights to a parking space, be it free or
cheap, and it is the rule to accommodate motorists in communities, in
developments, at businesses and on the street. It's normal to provide
parking facilities to those who arrive in a motor vehicle. I think
motorists take it for granted. I don't think they realize how great
they're actually having it. Drivers can find parking at any major
destination without any problem since LA's building codes specify how
much parking is needed for each planned land use, from barber to
butcher, from motel to mortuary. There is also a municipal code for
bike parking and what the bike parking must look like, where it needs
to be located and how it needs to protect the bike and how it needs to
be installed, but that is overlooked and not adhered to, so cyclists
are typically an afterthought, an intrusion, an unwelcome guest with an
inconvenient parking problem - a bike!

So this is why when I get
to my destinations, I usually feel frustration and anger and sadness
because I'm always being inconvenienced and then treated as if I am the
problem.

Parking at Ralph's

When
I ride to the grocery store, to the theatre, to pick up some movies or
to the book store, or to get some coffee or to go out to dinner with
friends, I typically struggle to find the bike parking, if it exists. I
usually look around and I have to scan the place, the street, the
parking lot, usually finding lots of parking for motor vehicles but not
much of a welcome for the cyclists. I look at what is the most sturdy
location that can hold my bike frame and that will accept both my
U-lock and my cable. I prefer the U-lock for the frame and wheel and
the cable as a back-up and for the front wheel, both locks connected to
whatever fixed pole, rack, tree, handrail, sign, or other improvised
bike rack I can create. I also look for a well lit location and also to
make sure that it is visible to a passersby and that it is not blocking
a walkway or in a position that will allow it to get bumped or hit by
motor vehicles jockeying for position. Typically I get two or three but
rarely all of my bike parking preferences.

When I find that
perfect spot for my bike, I also have to consider what is safe for me
as a person. Is the place safe enough for me, so I can bend down over
my bike to remove the lock when I leave the venue? Is there space for
me to fumble with my bike lock without having to either step off the
curb into a traffic lane, or are there other bikes locked so tight to
mine that I would rip my stockings or my skirt will get grease on it
from another chain.

There are many ideas of how to lock up a
bike and most ideas that come from cyclists have a valid point. All
worries need to be taken into consideration but unfortunately I don't
see any consideration from the various departments which includes the
Department of Transportation, who don't have a standard in installing
racks, the Metro, who don't even bother installing racks at their
transit oriented development and if they do, it's so badly installed
and out of sight that I wouldn't even put a shopping cart to it, and
even City Hall, who can't talk to their own departments to install
racks that are visible to security or to the public.

Private
developers are known for hiding bike parking as if it is a dirty little
secret, putting bike racks behind walls in enclosed areas that are
popular with the people who are looking for a secluded area for their
business, whatever it is that they need seclusion to do. These shortcut
developers also tend to favor "toaster" bike racks that only accept the
front wheel, making it easy to bend the wheel and tough to lock the
frame. Most of all, they put bike parking where it fits, not where it's
needed, demonstrating that cyclists are an afterthought.

The
frustration has caused many of my cycling friends to abandon their
bikes and either get back in their car or take public transit. The
frustration has gotten me into yelling matches with security guards
like the ones who threw a chain over my bike to punish me for locking
up somewhere where I thought I would be safer than what they provided.

Bike
racks seem so simple and so miniscule compared to all the other
problems that business owners face but that simple solution is quite
complex if you look at basic needs for those who ride. We ride dressed
up and dressed down. Some of us ride for sport, some for work like the
messengers, some for recreation and fun, and some of us ride as a main
means of transportation.

I belong to those people whose bike
is their main transportation solutions. I ride dressed up and down.
When I dress up, I want my dress and shoes and my stockings to stay
clean. Even when I ride dressed down, I don't want to walk into my
meeting with grease all over my hands because I had to maneuver my bike
into some tight parking quarters. When I go somewhere on my bike, I
want the same respect towards my mode as motor vehicle drivers do. I
need space, a well lit area, eyes on the parking area, and I want the
parking attendant to be as friendly and accommodating to me as s/he was
with the motor vehicle driver in front of me.

Michelle Mowery from DOT hands out her misguided bike rack installation guide.

Parking
is one of the basic elements that would make cycling more enjoyable
because when I arrive on a bike and find great bike parking, I relax
and enjoy myself. On the other hand, when I have to lock my bike up in
a bad place, when I get yelled at by security guards, when I worry that
my bike will be damaged or stolen or "booted" I have a hard time paying
attention at my meeting, or enjoying my meal, or spending my money.
It's my first impression and it's either good or bad, but it has an
impact on my entire experience.

Cyclists shouldn't have to fight
to be treated like motorists, to have accommodations waiting for them
when they arrive, to be supported with the same consideration and
respect as others who require lots of space. Nobody should be
mistreated, pushed, scolded, lectured, and given a long list of "No!"
responses to the simple request for bike parking. Why does it happen?
Because we allow it to happen and we fail to demand the simplest of
accommodations, safe and efficient bike parking.

It took us 6 months to get bike racks installed
at the new downtown LAPD headquarters across the street from City Hall.
6 months after the grand opening,
the DOT finally installed racks on the street, out of sight of the LAPD
officers stationed in the lobby and short of their own meager bike
parking standards. Even when they finally comply, the LADOT falls
short. (bolts missing, distance to each other varies, location is
abainst code, etc.)

For 3 years I've tried to get good bike
racks at the Museum Square properties but have been dissed by the
property managers assistant many times, and have never been put in
touch with the manager until 3 weeks ago when Stephen called him
because my bike got booted again.
I had parked it where it was safe, not in the wheel crowded wheel
benders that I always pass up. When did security guards get the right
to seize personal property? When did the Museum Square get a variance
that relieved them of their obligation to provide bike parking?

The
Hollywood & Vine Metro station still has no bike parking, in spite
of the fact that it's was in development and construction for over a
decade. The ribbon cutting came and went three months later, no bike
parking. Again, cyclists are not important to bother with.

Bike Parking at Tom LaBonge's field office in Hollywood.

It
would be funny if it weren't so sad but the City Council offices that
finally installed bike parking did it so poorly, they are not usable.
The Hollywood City Hall bike parking is an example of what not to do.
It's hidden from the street by large palm trees. It is accessible only
by stairs. It is packed so tightly that the three racks look great when
empty, but if bikes were loaded to capacity, it demonstrates that the
person who installed them has never ridden a bike, or even simply
attempted to lock one up. The end rack works only if the back of the
bike is lifted into the planter. Best part is, they ran out of bolts
and failed to complete installation, something that the Councilman, the
LADOT, the City staff, the contractor all failed to notice. But I did!

For
two years I have attended the Artios Awards Ceremony at the Hyatt
Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Century City, arriving on my bike and
then wasting time looking for bike parking. When I finally give up and
lock up to a rail or a pole, I end up incurring the wrath of a valet
who somehow feels comfortable yelling at me for daring to lock my bike
up on their property. So both times I gave in and locked up on the
street, one time to a light pole in the rain.

I frequent local
theatre companies and I typically call or email ahead to ask about bike
parking but rarely do the theatre managers respond. The Fake gallery
was the only theatre in East Hollywood, who said, if you ride, bring
your bike in, and we place the bikes in our little storage room. That
gallery has no space at all and yet they shared with us cyclists that
little room to make us feel welcomed and enjoy our stay.

Great bike parking is such a small gesture in the grand scheme of things but a good, safe and effective bike parking
is such a loud and clear message that getting out of the car and onto a
bike was a good choice.

By arriving on a bike, I am not giving
valets and security guards and property managers permission to push me
around, to scold me, to lecture me, or to insult me. I am not a child,
I am not a vandal, I am not a problem, I am a cyclist. I fully expect
to be treated with respect. To threaten my property is to threaten me.
It is unacceptable.

We, the people, some on foot, some on
bikes, others in cars or in buses, are all guaranteed certain
inalienable rights. I'm sick of being treated like a second class citizen
just because I ride a bike. I want to be treated with respect and if
there are in fact codes for bike parking then the businesses and
property owners need to adhere to it. If they don't, I expect the city
to fine these developers and make sure that the code is enforced and
not excused. To make our streets bike friendly, we need to provide bike
parking that is secure for the bike riders personal safety as well as
for the safety of the bike.

For all the talk of bike friendly
streets and for all the debate of our place on the road, the simplest
and cheapest thing our city leadership can do to support cyclists is to
make safe and efficient bike parking the standard and not the
exception. Help us achieve that by asking all your local businesses
that you visit to provide bike racks at their stores. Give them a
printout of the national standards for bike parking
instructions
and let's make Los Angeles a bike friendly city.