(Photo: PBOT)
The Portland Bureau of Transportation has partnered with Hacienda Community Development Corporation and Andando en Bicicletas y Caminando to build secure bike parking for residents at Hacienda affordable housing communities.
As the Community Cycling Center discovered over a decade ago in their groundbreaking “Barriers to Bicycling” report, fear of bike theft ranks high as a concern for people interested in cycling and secure parking is often nonexistent for Portlanders who live in affordable housing.
Cully neighborhood residents have worked for many years to make progress on this issue and the PBOT pilot program is an exciting step forward.
Recent City of Portland bike parking code changes updated rules to set bike parking standards that are in line with meeting Portland’s goal of having a 25% biking mode share by 2030.
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(Photo: PBOT)
A PBOT press release on the Hacienda secure bike parking project says that the program is designed to meet these new citywide bicycle parking standards. While bike parking at new developments has been designed to meet the code, parking availability at existing apartment buildings was lacking. This was a problem for people in these communities who want to be able to bike for transportation and recreation.
“Lockable, enclosed, and accessible bike parking is often the missing link for many Portlanders needing a low-cost form of transportation and recreation,” the PBOT press release says.
With a project budget of $31,000, PBOT constructed eight new weather-protected large bike lockers and three bike shelters with lockable fences. There are now an additional 54 secure places for people to park their bikes at several Hacienda communities in Portland, and the pilot may inform future projects to implement widespread secure bike parking.
“PBOT is using this pilot to understand what is possible when retrofitting an existing building with lockable and enclosed bike parking that are essential for supporting people using bikes, while still balancing the potential hurdles of implementation for building owners,” the press release says. “Supporting mobility by bike is part of PBOT’s strategic plan to reduce carbon emissions and support a balanced transportation system.”