I think that providing the bike parking at events like the beer fest can be and is (?) a fund raising opportunity for the Bike Fed. The Fed can confirm this. So, to me, that is a bummer as well as the lack of parking, the removal of a fund raising (and awareness of the organization raising opportunity) for the Bike Fed.
Ann M. Freiwald, ASLA -----Original Message----- From: Robbie Webber [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2008 11:16 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Bikies] Re: Isthmus article on bike parking I won't go into all the details, as I will leave that to Arthur, but the racks that Saris donated to Bike Fed for use at events cannot be permanently installed at city parks, as they don't meet code. As a matter of fact, Arthur doesn't even want them used at all. (Ask him if you want details. There is no reason to argue about it here.) There are actually many fewer car parking spots at many city parks than would be needed for large events, which I think we all agree is a good thing. In some cases, there aren't enough car parking spaces for even a busy weekend without a special event. There are also too few bike parking spots for all but the largest events that are held in parks and on the street: Blues Fest in Olin in the past, Blues Festival in Warnr recently, beer fest at Olin, Willy St fair, Rhythm and Booms, Art Fair on/off the Square, etc. There are requirements for garbage cans and porta-potties, recycling and many other items for these events. It's part of putting on an event. You could ask why the city doesn't have enough toilets or recycling bins permanently in place. The answer is that there are few times that that number of that item are needed at that location. There is a balance between having too many 350 days of the year (in which case they just take up space or get vandalized, too few on 7 days, and just the right number on 8 days. Now, there is NO QUESTION that many parks and other locations right now have too few bike parking spaces for daily summer or even weekend use. Ditto for garbage and recycling bins, in my opinion. We can work on that, and we are working on that. Providing proper facilities for a handful of special events is a different question. By the way, San Fransisco requires bicycle parking for large events regardless of the organization putting on the event. It's just expected. If an organization is putting on an event for 5000 people, bike parking would be a tiny fraction of the cost or volunteer effort. If they are putting on an event for 200 people, they wouldn't even be covered by the requirement. _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
