news SMART to Install Additional Bike Parking

In response to demands made by MCBC, Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition (SCBC), and a number of bicycle and transportation advocates, SMART will hold a workshop at its early December board meeting, to ask directors where additional bicycle parking should be installed before regular service begins.

At last week’s Board meeting, SMART staff presented a final Bicycle Parking Investment Plan for the Board’s receipt. The adoption of the final plan came two months after the rail district issued a call for comments on the plan.

MCBC and SCBC seized that opportunity to publicize the inadequate supply and security of bicycle parking currently installed at SMART stations, which was in stark contrast to the plan’s baseline recommendations.

Our focus will remain on ensuring baseline recommendations are fulfilled by the start of rail service. (Baseline recommendations include inverted U-racks and secure storage at all SMART stations.) At last week’s meeting, a number of SMART Directors spoke in favor of the immediate installation of secure e-lockers, recognizing the need for longer-term options for commuters who will leave their bicycles at stations for several hours at a time.

SMART has indicated that it will use both grant monies and its own Measure Q funds for additional bike parking. At last week’s board meeting, MCBC and SCBC requested that the board allocate sufficient Measure Q funds to fulfill baseline recommendations over the coming months, rather than relying on the possibility of securing grant funds at some unknown point in the future.

MCBC will continue to monitor SMART’s bicycle parking investments and provide updates.