Bicycle Specifications for Developers • •

Inverted U shaped racks are the County standard for Bike Racks. Inverted U racks are designed to hold two bikes (counts as 2 spaces), one on each side, with middle of the bike leaning against the rack (see photo). Often these are installed incorrectly by a contractor so that only one side is useful.



Fore and aft clearances should be 24 inches minimum to allow room for the bikes wheels to stick out on each end. If surface mounted to concrete, tamper-proof expansion anchors should be used. A standard bike takes up about 6 feet in length. Side clearance should be 30 inches minimum. Gangs of racks (multiple racks on a common base) may be easier to install as they need fewer anchors. Each rack element (the "U") should be a minimum of 30 inches so two bikes can be accommodated on each "U".

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Inverted “U” rack

The rack should be installed in an area highly visible to an entrance used by building/site visitors. Racks should be installed a minimum of 30 inches apart from each other. Racks should not be installed in locations that may obstruct expected pedestrian paths.

Dimensioned Call Out Drawing



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A Dimensioned Call Out Drawing is required for each installation location. This is needed so plan reviewers can be sure the racks will be installed correctly and can see that there is enough space around the rack to make them useable. The dimensioned drawing aids the contractor to be able to install the racks once, successfully. Please show all installation dimensions in a drawing, or call-out drawing, related to building objects for both interior and exterior racks. Make sure that the racks are installed far enough away from walls, bollards, parking meters, the curb or other objects to make them useful.

Visitor racks are to be installed exterior to the building.

Arlington Bicycle Parking Class I Standards.pdf shows various Class 1 storage options

and contains a list of manufacturers of various types of racks. •



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Many people think the class 1 storage has to be in the garage, but it does not. Class 1 storage could be in a lockable ground floor room or some other agreed upon location. A ground floor room has the advantage of cleaner facilities, fewer conflicts with automobiles, and easier access to the outside. Some buildings have it on the ground floor with a separate door to the sidewalk. If you have 8 feet or more of unobstructed ceiling height in the area for storage, a double decker rack may be the optimal answer. Please check with the manufacturer on ceiling height requirements for different rack designs. They will need a minimum of 13 feet in the direction that they are to be loaded from inside the enclosure for loading bikes onto the racks. Key fob access is best, if the building is going to have it. It much easier to administer electronic fob rights than to manage keys. Pay attention to size of the lockers and the numbers racks per Sq. Ft., and to locker room/shower requirements.

Good Bike Rack Examples.pdf are captioned pictures with good installations. Bad Examples.pdf are captioned pictures with unacceptable installations. Bicycle Storage Facilities Revised are the latest bike regulations for site plans. Visitor racks are to be installed exterior to the building. Developers can also propose a specific rack design to us for approval. Feel free to call if you have any questions about bike facilities. (703) 228-3717

Bicycle Parking Standards and Classifications Class I - Maximum security for all-day employee and resident parking This is a locked room or cage or a fully enclosed locker. It can be located inside office, retail, residential or hotel spaces. If located outdoors, or in a parking garage, it is highly visible from either an elevator entrance, a full-time parking attendant, a fulltime security guard, a closedcircuit television camera, a visitor/customer entrance or is next to a heavily used parking garage driving lane, but such that parked bicycles are not visible from the street. If bicycles are parked vertically, they shall be supported by the fork and tire, not the wheel rim, with the bottom wheel a few inches off the ground. The bicycle supports shall be powder coated. A minimum of 30% of all Class I parking for a site shall provide for horizontal parking such as with floor mounted inverted “U” racks, or double-decker racks that provide a method to lock bikes securely to the rack. a.) Locked Room or Cage This is a fully enclosed room or a cage covered by industrial grade chain link or equivalent. It has a heavy-duty combination, tumbler, or electronic lock on the entrance. Class III parking is provided within. Unless bicycles can be wheeled straight in from door to a parking stall, there is a 60 inch wide aisle inside the enclosure that allows bikes to be maneuvered in and out.

Inverted “U” racks

Double-decker

Space Saver vertical racks

b.) Lockers These are fully enclosed spaces accessible by a single bicyclist only. It is either key-lockable or protects the user's padlock from long handled bolt cutters.

Horizontal Lockers

Vertical Lockers

Class III - Light Security for short-term visitor parking The Class III parking facility is a bicycle rack intended for short-term use by site visitors. The rack must be constructed of steel pipe or tubing and securely anchored to an immovable level surface. The rack design must provide stable support for a bicycle locked against it by allowing at least two points of contact for a typical adult or child’s bicycle frame. (See the attached photographs for examples of some suitable designs). The rack should not hold or otherwise place stress upon the bicycle’s wheels. Inverted “U” rack

The rack should be installed in an area highly visible to an entrance used by building/site visitors. Racks should be installed a minimum of 36 inches apart from each other. A minimum of 30” of clear space, free of all fixed objects such as walls and fences, must be provided in all directions of the rack. Racks should not be installed in locations that may obstruct expected pedestrian paths.

Single “U” Rack

Single Racks

Ganged “U” Racks

Vendors: Below is a sample list of bike rack vendors. Arlington County does not recommend any particular vendor. All rack designs must be submitted on the plans for approval Company

Web address

What we would approve

Bikeparking.com

www.bikeparking.com

Creative Metalworks

creativemetalworksllc.com

Double-decker racks w/locking arm, Bike lockers Bike circle

Creative Pipe

creativepipe.com/bike_racks.htm

Gauntlet, inverted U, Hurricane

Dero

dero.com

Function First

http://www.bikerack.com/bikeracks/bikeribiii/

Josta

josta.de

Landscapeforms

http://www.landscapeforms.com/

Hoop (inverted U ), Campus, Bike hitch, Swerve, and the Space Saver, Bike rib III series (inverted “U”s) Double-decker racks w/locking arm Bola (inverted U type)

Madrax

madrax.com

Saris

saris.com

American Bicycle Security Company

www.ameribike.com

Circa, Keyrack, U-two (inverted U) Double-decker racks w/locking arm, Bike Dock, Stadium rack (inverted “U”s) Bike lockers

Cyclesafe

http://www.cyclesafe.com/

Bike lockers

1.

Bicycle Storage Facilities The developer agrees to provide, at no charge to the user, secure bicycle storage facilities in locations convenient to office, residential and retail areas on the following basis at a minimum: Office and Residential Bicycle Storage Facilities: For each office building, one (1) employee bicycle parking space for every 7,500 square feet, or portion thereof, of office floor area and one (1) additional such visitor space for every 20,000 square feet, or portion thereof, of office floor area. For each residential building, one (1) resident bicycle parking space for every three (3) residential units, or portion thereof, of residential units and one (1) visitor space for every 50 residential units, or portion thereof, of residential units. Employee and resident bicycle parking facilities shall be highly visible to the intended users and protected from rain and snow within a structure shown on the site plan. The facilities shall not encroach on any area in the public right-of-way intended for use by pedestrians or any required fire egress. The facilities for office users and resident bicycle parking must meet the acceptable standards for Class I storage space as contained in the Arlington Bicycle Transportation Plan, dated April 1994 with Amendments through March 2003, and be highly visible from an elevator entrance, a full-time parking attendant, a full-time security guard or a visitor/customer entrance. Visitor parking must be located within 50 feet of the primary building entrance. Any bicycle parking racks used on the site must conform to the Arlington County Standard or be approved by the Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Manager. Drawings showing that these requirements have been met shall be approved by the Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Manager before the issuance of the Footing to Grade Structure Permit. Residential condominium covenants shall not prohibit the storage of bicycles in individual condominium units. In addition, the developer agrees that for each office building, for every 50,000 square feet or fraction thereof of office Gross Floor Area (GFA), one (1) shower per gender shall be installed, up to a maximum of three (3) showers per gender. Also, a minimum of one (1) clothes storage locker per gender shall be installed for every required employee bicycle parking space. The lockers shall be installed adjacent to the showers in a safe and secured area and both showers and lockers shall be accessible to all tenants of the building. The lockers will be a minimum size of 12” wide, 18”deep, 36” high, and shall be available for use on a 24 hour basis. The location, layout and security of the showers and lockers shall be reviewed by the Arlington County Police Department before issuance of the Footing to Grade Structure Permit. The developer agrees that an exercise/health facility containing a maximum of 1,000 square feet shall not count as density (FAR) but shall count as GFA if this facility meets all of the following criteria: 1). The facility shall be located in the interior of the building and shall not add to the bulk or height of the project; 2). Showers and clothes lockers shall be

provided as required above; 3). The lockers shall be installed adjacent to the showers in a safe and secured area within the exercise facility and both showers and lockers shall be accessible to all tenants of the project; 4). The exercise facility shall be open only to tenants of the project and shall not accept or solicit memberships from outside of the project. The exercise facility, including the showers and lockers, shall be open during normal working hours. Retail Bicycle Storage Facilities: Two (2) retail visitor/customer bicycle parking spaces for every 10,000 square feet, or portion thereof, of the first 50,000 square feet of retail floor area; one (1) additional retail visitor/customer space for every 12,500 square feet, or portion thereof, of additional retail floor area; and one (1) additional retail employee space for every 25,000 square feet, or portion thereof, of retail floor area. The retail visitor/customer bicycle spaces shall be installed at exterior locations within 50 feet of the primary entrance, and such locations shall be reviewed by the Division of Transportation. The developer agrees to obtain approval of the location, design and details of the retail visitor/customer bicycle spaces as part of the final site development and landscape plan. Facilities for retail visitors/customers must meet the County standards for bicycle racks, be located close to retail visitor/customer entrances or the closest retail vehicle parking spaces, and be approved by the Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Manager before installation.

Good examples of Bicycle Rack installations

Example of Inverted U racks used for “Visitor” racks outside of a residential building. Good spacing allows easy access for two bikes on each rack. The Monroe Condominiums 10th St N and N Monroe St. Arlington.

Same racks: note close proximity to main building entrance as required in site plan conditions (within 50' ).

It is great if there is an overhang to protect the bikes from the weather. Here again, note the closeness to the front doors.

Here are inverted U racks placed in the utility strip in a diagonal configuration minimizing infringing on the walking area of the sidewalk . Also because of the location relative to the parking spaces, they do not interfere with car door opening. 1800 Wilson Blvd.

Vertical racks in an interior storage area. Space Saver racks. Each black arm accommodates one bike. It is a requirement to also have some U racks on the floor for people who might have trouble lifting their bikes up to hang them

Interior bicycle storage room. Note cyclone fence enclosure. This facility has electronic locks activated by the user’s security fob. There are men’s and women’s locker rooms with showers located adjacent to this enclosure and accessed from within.

Interior bicycle storage room. Note DoubleDecker rack. This facility has electronic locks activated by the user’s security fob. This facility is in a condo building on the ground floor instead of the garage. The door opens onto the side walk. 50% of the racks are on the floor in a horizontal orientation. This makes it easy for persons who can’t lift.

Door to the above bike facility. This facility is in a condo building on the ground floor instead of the garage. The door opens onto the side walk. This facility has electronic locks activated by the resident’s security fob.

Bad examples of Bicycle Rack installations

Example of “Post” type rack installed too close to a security bollard. There should be 30 to 36 inches of space between the rack and the bollard to allow two bikes to use this rack. As it is now, a bike cannot fit between the post and the bollard.

Example of Inverted U rack installed too close to a security bollard. There should be 24 to 36 inches of space between the rack and the bollard to allow for the wheels of the bike.

Example of Inverted U racks installed too close to the building. There should be 24 to 36 inches of space between the rack and the building to allow for the wheels of the bike.

Example of Inverted U racks installed too close together. There should be 72 inches of space between the racks in this orientation to allow for the wheels of the bikes.

Arlington County does not approve the “Wave” bike rack design.

Arlington County does not approve the “Wave” bike rack design.