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CityRacks Bike Parking Program
Since 1999, the City of Oakland's CityRacks Bicycle Parking Program has installed over 900 bicycle parking racks and lockers accommodating over 2,060 bicycles in commercial districts throughout the city. Racks and lockers have been funded by the Transportation Fund for Clean Air, Alameda County Congestion Management Agency, TDA Article 3 bike/ped funds, and Alameda County's Measure B 1/2 sales tax for transportation.
With additional TDA Article 3 bike/ped funds, the City is evaluating new rack locations for installation in the coming year (by summer 2008.) If you know of a good location for a bicycle rack, please review the guidelines below and submit your location request.
Anyone can request a free rack be placed on public property. Note that, due to the necessity to address parking meter removal and limited funds at this time, the city will not be able to install all requested racks in the coming year. To submit your request, please review the Bike Rack Placement Requirements (.pdf), and either:
- (a) use the Online Request Form; or
- (b) download a CityRacks Authorization Form, (English, 533 kb | Spanish, 348 kb | Chinese, 838 kb | Vietnamese, 598 kb), complete (requires business or property owner's signature greatly streamlining process), put in envelope, and mail to the address listed (or fax to: 510-238-6412)
(c) contact City staff at 510-238-3983 or bikeped@oaklandnet.com to suggest a location.
Summary of Requirements
Sites must leave clear a minimum of 5½ feet clear for pedestrian right-of-way outside
the bicycle footprint (7 feet in areas of heavy pedestrian traffic), and cannot be installed in AC Transit bus red zones and other areas. Please consult the Bike Rack Placement Requirements (.pdf), The City uses these requirements to determine if sites are suitable for rack placement. Also, when applicable, the adjacent business owners are contacted to verify interest in and agreement with rack installation.
Please call 510-238-3983 or email bikeped@oaklandnet.com with questions or for more information.
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Parking Meter Removal / Solutions
The Finance and Management Agency has replaced over 4,400 on-street parking meters with "pay and display" parking kiosks in Oakland's main commercial districts. Affected locations include Chinatown, Rockridge, Piedmont Ave, Grand Lake, Montclair, and downtown.
As an interim solution to the meter removal problem, two meter poles with their meter housing will be left on each block face. A sticker will be applied to each meter housing to mark it as bicycle parking (see photo, right). As part of the parking kiosk installation, signs were to be installed at either end of each block directing parkers to the kiosk for payment. The new poles for these signs were to also serve as bike parking. The meter poles and sign poles ensure that bicycle parking remains available on every block in Oakland’s commercial districts in the short term. If you have questions about the meter removal and installation of kiosks, contact Shahla Azimi, Parking Division, at (510) 986-2692. For questions about selection of meter poles to remain and bike rack installation, contact Jennifer Stanley, Transportation Services Division, at (510) 238-3983.
District 1 City Council Member Jane Brunner used some of her discretionary transportation funds to help alleviate the bike parking shortage in the Piedmont and Rockridge areas. Thirty-six (36) new bike parking racks were installed in these areas in January 2008.
To address the meter removal, the Transportation Services Division (TSD) plans to expand the CityRacks Program in an effort to install 1,000 new bicycle racks over the next two to five years. The 1,000 racks would provide one rack for each five parking meters being removed as a result of the kiosk project.
A recent grant will allow the City to begin this process. TSD is planning on installing approximately 280 bike racks in the affected commercial districts by the end of 2008. The proposed racks, included location and placement criteria, are described in the Neighborhood Bike Parking Plan (.pdf, 2.5mb) and summarized here. The Plan considers each affected district in its entirety. This approach is more comprehensive than Oakland’s CityRacks Program which, since 1999, has responded to requests from merchants, businesses, property owners, bicyclists and shoppers to install bicycle racks on a case-by-case basis.
The plan will be circulated to merchants and business groups in the affected areas for comment prior to rack installation. Maps identifying proposed locations for racks in each commercial district are available below:
You may email comments on the Plan or maps to bikeped@oaklandnet.com.
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Photos of Oakland Bike Racks
Click to enlarge any of the photos below showing bike racks installed in commercial districts citywide.
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Bike Parking Ordinance
On July 15, 2008, the Oakland City Council adopted an ordinance that requires bicycle parking in certain types of development. A bicycle parking ordinance will result in the provision of end-of-trip facilities integral to making bicycling a viable form of transportation. The ordinance addresses bicycle racks, lockers, cages and showers, and how these facilities will be included in future development. Also included is a requirement for valet bicycle parking at public events with over 5,000 attendees.
Download .pdfs:
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Bicycle Parking Resources for Private and Public Development
The City of Oakland encourages both private and public developers to provide bicycle parking facilities to supplement the City's grant-funded efforts.
- To install racks on public property, private property owners must apply for a minor encroachment permit ($35); the total cost including application and other fees is $115.90. Download information packet (includes application forms).
- To install racks on private property (when not related to a larger development project), no permit is required.
The City of Oakland’s Bike Rack Placement Guidelines and Specifications for Bike Racks Installed in the Public Right-of-Way can assist developers and property owners with managing available space efficiently and selecting user-friendly rack designs to provide a high quality installation. When property owners install bicycle racks in the public right-of-way, they can select any rack type that conforms to the City’s design guidelines.
The Bicycle & Pedestrian Facilities Program offers resources and technical assistance with rack specifications and placement. Please call (510) 238-3983 or email bikeped@oaklandnet.com with questions or for more information.
Resources
The Bay Area is home to two bike parking rack and locker manufacturers, vendors and installers, eLock Technologies (specializing in eLockers) and bikeparking.com (specializing in locally manufactured bike parking racks and a variety of lockers), and there are many other out-of-area vendors as well. Providing bike parking racks has the potential to increase a business' sales by attracting cyclists who will be grateful for the accommodation. Bike racks start at about $220 (installed) for a simple "U" rack for two bikes, and go up from there to reflect the variety of styles available.
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Downtown Bicycle eLockers
Sixteen electronic bike lockers ("eLockers") are available for use by the public in downtown Oakland. Located next to Oakland's two downtown BART stations (12th and 19th Street Stations), the eLockers were made possible by a grant from the Transportation Fund for Clean Air, augmented by Alameda County Measure B funds. Renting an eLocker costs $0.05/hour, and the first five hours of each rental are free: therefore, an eight-hour rental costs just 15 cents and many rentals will cost nothing at all. See press release.
To purchase a BikeLink card, needed to use the lockers, go to:
Other info:
Why eLockers?
Unlike conventional lockers that are rented by the year to one person only, eLockers can be used by any cyclist with a Bike Link card. This wallet-sized card will be pre-purchased like a BART ticket and used to access any unoccupied locker; bike parking costs just pennies a day. An innovative and secure locking technology coupled with the Bike Link card allows for locker access by multiple consecutive users, an improvement over conventional lockers that are rented by the year to one person only, and which remain empty much of the time. The eLockers have been installed in El Cerrito, Santa Cruz, and Palo Alto. For more information, including videos demonstrating how to use the eLockers, go to www.bikelink.org.
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Bicycle Parking Do's and Don'ts
There are no guarantees of safety when parking your bicycle. Generally speaking, bicycle thieves are opportunists, looking for the easiest bicycles to steal. Following are some bike parking "do's" and "don'ts" that may make it less likely that a thief will select your bicycle, and which also help bicyclists "share the road" with pedestrians.
Do:
- Park in well lit open areas where many people pass by, your bicycle can be seen easily, and you can get to your bike quickly.
- Lock to a bike rack (if there is one available*) and park so that your bike doesn't block the sidewalk or curb ramps.
- Use a strong lock. U locks are popular and work well, but some U locks are stronger than others; make sure you buy a strong steel-alloy lock, and one without a cylindrical barrel. If you use a padlock or chain, links, cables, and lock clasps should be at least 3/8 of an inch thick and case-hardened.
- Use an additional lock or cable to secure wheels or other valuable parts such as seats.
- Consider locking skewers to secure wheels.
- Remove lights, pump, bags or other valuables from the bike.
- If a U-Lock is used:
- and it has a keyway on the end of the crossbar, position the lock with its keyway towards the ground. This makes it harder for a thief to access the lock.
- position the bicycle frame and wheels so that as much open space as possible within the U-portion of the lock is filled or taken up. This makes it more difficult for a thief to use tools to attack the lock.
Don't:
- Don't park so that your bicycle blocks a curb ramp.
- Don't park so that your bicycle blocks the sidewalk. (In most cases, this means parking parallel to the curb.)
- Don't park to a tree; not only is it insecure, it's also bad for the tree!
- Don't secure only the bike wheel (unless that's the part you want to keep.)
- Don't leave your bike locked in one spot for several days.
- Don't leave your bike unlocked "just for a minute" while you run into a shop. It takes less than a minute to steal a bike.
(Thanks to the Springfield, Illinois Police Department and Bike Pittsburgh for some of the above tips.)
* If a rack is available, please use it instead of a parking meter. Bikes parked at meters can pose problems for those with disabilities and others when exiting or entering parked vehicles. Bikes at meters also pose problems for City maintenance crews. If a meter is the only option at a location you frequent, please contact the Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities Coordinator at (510) 238-3983 or bikeped@oaklandnet.com or use our Online Request Form to request a rack.
To report a stolen bicycle, please see the Bicycle Registration page.
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Downtown Oakland Bicycle Parking Map
Click here to view the downtown Oakland bicycle parking map (.pdf, 2.8mb)
Downtown Oakland and Jack London Square are great destinations for dining, shopping, and enjoying attractions like the Oakland Museum, the Museum of Children's Art, and the Jack London Aquatic Center. Convenient free bicycle parking located throughout downtown make bicycling one of the most low-cost and convenient ways to see downtown Oakland.
Note: This map was last updated in 2001. Many more racks have been and are slated to be installed.