I was very interested to learn from Sun Ki that in several weeks the new "Bikes in Buildings" law will go into effect in New York City. This says that building owners must provide indoor bike parking if:
It is a commercial office building;
It has a freight elevator; and
A tenant/subtenant requests bicycle access.
As designers, we have to pay attention to events like this. When the rules change, you should automatically start thinking: "what new products will be required to allow people to adapt to these new conditions. A number of possibilities jump out, but I don't want to say what they are (yet). But, the first thing that I did was to do some quick on line research. I found a publication from Tranportation Alternatives that provides a bunch of ideas. That document can be found here.
Since outdoor parking is the biggest problem for people who want to commute on their bikes, this new requirement that parking space be made available indoors should be an effective tool in promoting biking and reducing automobile traffic. Some issues that still need to be resolved by the introduction of new products might be:
1. People may not want to ride on a bike wearing a nice suit. Maybe people need an easy way to change clothes (or at least shoes) when they get to work.
2. The new regulation says that buildings that have freight elevators must provide indoor parking. How will multiple bikes fit into freight elevators? Do they need some kind of hanger or brackets on the wall for carrying bikes?
3. Will people also use their bikes for business meetings? If so, they need to be able to park their bikes in any office building, not just their own. Does this suggest some kind of special locking system?
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