{"id":4004,"date":"2013-05-30T12:13:47","date_gmt":"2013-05-30T16:13:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com\/blog\/?p=4004"},"modified":"2024-05-24T07:40:41","modified_gmt":"2024-05-24T11:40:41","slug":"motorcycle-parking-do-you-need-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/motorcycle-parking-do-you-need-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Motorcycle parking: do you need it?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maybe. You might need motorcycle parking, depending on where your lot is, and how big it is. But it’s controversial; information on how best to account for the two-wheeled is thin on the proverbial ground.<\/p>\n

Those of us who want smaller, greener parking lots might be inclined to see a finely articulated system in which every type of vehicle has its own designated spots as an elegant, efficient way to make the best possible use of space. Motorcycle parking plays into that nicely \u2013 if motorcycles are currently taking up expansive parking spots, wasting space, why not just shrink your lot by shrinking the proportion of full-sized spots likely to be taken up by bikes at any given time, trading them for spots designated for motorcycles?<\/p>\n

\"Scooters<\/a>

How many spots does your lot need to have to make this worthwhile? Surprisingly, no one really knows. From ganesha.isis<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

The National Parking Association<\/a>\u2019s fifth edition of Dimensions of Parking<\/a><\/i> explains why parking geared toward small vehicles, while laudable, can be self-defeating. Long story short, compact car parking makes perfect sense if you have a 100% enforcement rate \u2013 but that\u2019s tough to manage. As the NPA points out,<\/p>\n

If small-vehicle spaces are in a convenient location, drivers of intermediate or even larger vehicles may park in the small-vehicle spaces, thus impeding traffic flow and compromising both the safety and comfort of turning for other users. Moreover, when large vehicles are parked in small-vehicle parking spaces, they often encroach into the adjacent parking spaces, creating a ripple effect along the row that eventually renders a parking space unusable \u2013 and negates the improved efficiency offered by small-vehicle parking spaces. On the other hand, if small-vehicle spaces are placed at inconvenient locations, small-vehicle drivers may park their vehicles in standard-sized spaces, forcing later-arriving large vehicles into small-vehicle parking spaces. In sum, specially located small-vehicle spaces are not effective unless a facility is policed to prevent the drivers of large vehicles from using small-vehicle spaces, and vice versa. (p. 60)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So compact car parking is dead because of the tricky choices visitors are confronted with, and the savings in space won\u2019t generally justify the extra enforcement needed to make sure everyone goes where they\u2019re supposed to. (Compact car parking presents other difficulties, but this one is the most germane to motorcycle parking.)<\/p>\n

\"Car<\/a>

Why motorcycle only parking may not work as well as we want it to, unless you make enforcement a priority. Via c.j.b.<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

All that said, while making up a little over 2.5% of America\u2019s traffic, there are plenty of places where motorbikes are common enough to be worthwhile to plan for, but motorcycle traffic is strangely absent from broader discussion of parking requirements \u2013 sources often assume that the only distinction to be drawn is between accessible parking spots and those used by the general population.<\/p>\n

A 2007 study<\/a> by Wayne Cottrell of California State Polytechnic University is one of very few resources available. By looking at the ratio of motorcycle registrations against all other vehicles on a state-by-state basis, as well as the average size of motorcycle chassis and a comprehensive evaluation of all<\/i> available parking ratio recommendations, Cottrell recommends the following:<\/p>\n

Motorcycle parking stall dimensions: 4.5 ft by 8 ft
\nMotorcycle equivalency factor: 4 motorcycle stalls = 1 auto stall
\nMotorcycle parking stalls: 1 per 24 automobile parking stalls in Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
\n1 per 36 automobile parking stalls in Alaska, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Washington.
\n1 per 48 automobile parking stalls in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, and Utah.
\n1 per 60 automobile parking stalls in Arizona, District of Columbia, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Note that these recommendations don\u2019t tell us what the lower limit for motorcycle parking should be, or how well-documented shifts in transport modalities should change the kinds of parking we require. They do, however, take into account the proportion of drivers who are likely to be on motorbikes.<\/p>\n

\"Reserved<\/a>

From myparkingsign.com’s motorcycle parking sign<\/a> department.<\/p><\/div>\n

A few questions left open:<\/p>\n