So, I’ve been trying to figure out if any bike racks are going in at the new St. Clair College Journalism Mediaplex building downtown. The short answer is no, but in the future, the college may look at putting some in.
I thought it was required of new (and renovated) buildings in Windsor to provide bike racks. I asked around, and the answer to that question depends on how many motor vehicle parking spaces are being provided on the property.
I’m in the process of finding out if there’s going to be a parking lot at the new Mediaplex, and I’ll let you know when I find out. For now, take a look at the by-law, and let me know how many bike parking spots you think there should be for say, a 30 car parking lot. (I ask, because this confuses the hell out of me.)
Here are the exact words in the by-law:
Bicycle Parking Spaces
(i) For the purpose of this clause, a bicycle parking space shall mean a hard surfaced area having a minimum dimension of 0.6 metres by 2.5 metres and having thereon a corrosion resistant metal bicycle storage rack capable of accommodating one (1) bicycle in a safe and secure manner;
(ii) There shall be provided and maintained reserved parking for bicycles at the following ratio: two (2) bicycle parking spaces for the first 10 required motor vehicle parking spaces and a minimum of one (1) bicycle parking space for each twenty (20) additional required motor vehicle parking spaces to a maximum of one (1) bicycle parking space for each fifteen (15) required motor vehicle parking spaces beyond the first 10 motor vehicle parking spaces.
(AMENDED by B/L 363-2002, Dec. 31, 2002)
(iii) All required bicycle parking spaces shall be provided at the time of the erection of a building or addition thereto, expansion of a use or when there is a change of use of a lot or building. They shall be subsequently maintained exclusively for the use for which they are required for as long as such use in operation;
(iv) The provisions of clause (b) and subclauses (ii) and (iii) of clause (c), of subsection (5), of this Section shall apply to bicycle parking spaces;
(v) The number of required motor vehicle parking spaces shall be reduced at a ratio of one (1) parking space for each four (4) bicycle parking spaces provided, however, that the reduction in motor vehicle parking spaces shall not exceed 15 percent of the required motor vehicle parking spaces;
(vi) All required bicycle parking spaces shall be located on the same lot as the use they are intended to serve.
(vii) Each bicycle space shall be located in a manner which will not hamper the movement of pedestrians or physically challenged persons on a walkway or within a parking area or motor vehicles within a parking area. The following regulations shall apply:
(1) When located on a walkway, each bicycle parking space shall be more than two (2) metres distant from a building and a handicapped motor vehicle parking space;
(2) No bicycle parking space shall be permitted within a daylight corner or a required yard;
(viii) Required bicycle parking spaces provided inside a building or located so as not to be visible from the major access area to the site shall be identified by an Information and Operational Sign as set out in the Corporation’s Sign By-law Number 250-2004.
(ADDED by B/L 12234, July 14, 1995 AND AMENDED by B/L 46-2005, March 23, 2005)
And here’s a link to the by-law (which covers property re-zoning):
http://www.citywindsor.ca/DisplayAttach.asp?AttachID=4931
So, what do you think?
I don’t see what parking has to do with it. Phog has two out front and has no parking. Milk has 2 out front with metered parking. Chanoso’s has 2 out front. I still don’t get it. When it’s a school or educational building, it should have different bylaws and require bike racks. Instead they spent all that money on benches working into the design. Yet another architect or designer who doesn’t care about cycling. : (
The racks at Phog and Milk are on city property (the sidewalk), put there by the city. I’d like to see some multi bike racks put in at the Mediaplex.
You’re right about education buildings though… students ride bikes, so it only makes sense to offer them a safe place to keep their bikes while in class.
I’d say they would need 3 bicycle parking spaces, from my reading of the bylaw.
That’s why I don’t understand what’s keeping St. Clair from having bike racks put out front of their building or at the side just like at phog or milk. The new TD building has them all around their building and it’s on city property far as I know since the post and rings are in the same place they are all over downtown. What did St. Clair do wrong that TD did right?
Gooooood question, Darren. Who would be the person to ask… someone in the planning department?
Wouldn’t hurt to contact the DWBIA too since I think they had a lot to do with the post and ring’s that went up in front of Phog and Milk. It looked like the ones by TD though were put in when the new sidewalks were poured. St. Clair missed out on that already. There’s a lot of benches around the north side of TD too with the racks. Very nice.
I got a reply from the college about the parking lot. The lot that’s just north of the Mediaplex is not owned by the college- it’s a city pay lot. So, in this case, the college has no obligation to put in bike racks at all.
The more I read over that by-law, the more it seems outdated. Why are bike racks only required if there are car parking spaces provided? I think there should be a by-law stating that new or newly renovated buildings MUST include plans for bike racks, regardless if there are car parking spots. And like Darren says, this rule should apply to schools, at the very least.
The other issue is the availability of post and ring racks put in by the city. Why didn’t the college think to ask the city to put some in place, while they were pouring concrete for new sidewalks? How do we get developers/contractors/entrepreneurs/etc. to consider the needs of the cycling population more?
One thing I noticed today is the lack of parking meters since the redid the sidewalk too. Milk has no parking either though or Chanoso’s and they both have 2 post and ring racks. Whatever is in writing needs to change anyway. Mostly to get them to stop using these sort of racks I posted about here:
http://spinadrift.com/2010/04/18/the-sobering-west-end/
So many businesses are using them but they are useless as a bike rack.
The current writing, if applied properly, wouldn’t allow those racks.
“having thereon a corrosion resistant metal bicycle storage rack capable of accommodating one (1) bicycle in a safe and secure manner” – Well, those racks don’t allow you to accomodate a bike in a secure manner, because you cannot lock your frame to the rack. I also wouldn’t consider my bike “secure” in any rack that can be used to bend the wheels. Finally, these racks aren’t exactly corrosion resistant.
Someone should email Josette Eugeni (Manager for Transportation Planning, Windsor) since I remember at a past WBC meeting she was the one who said all new places require bike racks. I don’t think they have the manpower to do inspections but those sort of racks are all over the place. That one is at the Tim Hortons on Sandwich, and the plaza on Tecumseh just west of Lauzon Parkway where the home depot is has those racks scattered all over the plaza at businesses.