Bike parking scarce at DC USA
Friends and Smarter Growthers tell me that the new Target in Columbia Heights has been a rousing success, except for the bike situation. According to reports, there were bicycles locked up all over the place this weekend because, when spending $42 million for a parking garage, our government didn’t build enough bike parking.
Meanwhile, the taxpayer-subsidized garage was about half full midday on the weekend. Only the Target is open so far, so that may change. Remember, the garage needs to be about 95% full, ten hours a day, to break even. But if bike parking is already scarce while car parking is plentiful, we’ve already gotten it wrong.
Update: here’s a picture from Cheryl Cort of Coalition for Smarter Growth. I count at least seven bikes and zero bike racks; one bike (toward the background) seems to be blocking some pedestrian walking space. Cheryl also says there is room for racks along the building’s edge that is currently empty.