Corrals and Oases: Bike Parking in Portland

The Bottleneck Blog isn’t the only one who can go to Portland to check out their best practices. 

Here’s one more from this summer’s Carfree Cities conference week in Portland. In this Streetfilm, Greg Raisman of the Portland Office of Transportation treats Elizabeth Press to a bike parking tour, featuring two designs that make the most of available space while keeping pedestrian impediments to a minimum. The “bike oasis” incorporates a sidewalk bulb-out for bike storage, while the “bike corral” secures scores of bikes in parking spots once occupied by two or three cars.

Not only are the set ups convenient for cyclists, they’re good for business too. Says Richard Satnick, founder of Laughing Planet Café:

“They’re very heavily used all the time. And the usual business argument that you’re taking away parking just doesn’t work here.”