CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION __________________
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A RESOLUTION requesting that the Seattle Department of Transportation develop a budget proposal for creating on-street bike and e-scooter parking.
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WHEREAS, The City of Seattle (“City”) is committed to investing in and improving all modes of transportation; and
WHEREAS, the Seattle Department of Transportation’s (SDOT) 2018 Bicycle Parking Guidelines state: “Safe and secure bicycle parking is a key amenity that encourages people to bike to work, [to] school, or to run errands. Bicycling is good for one’s health, it’s an affordable transportation option, and it’s environmentally friendly. To encourage ridership there is a need for convenient short-term (4 hours or less) and long-term (more than 4 hours) bicycle parking facilities; after all, there can only be as many people biking as there are safe places to leave a bike”; and
WHEREAS, SDOT’s 2018 Bicycle Parking Guidelines state that “[c]onvenient bike racks provide an amenity for customers and businesses benefit by making it more convenient for people riding bicycles to patronize their establishment”; and
WHEREAS, nationwide we have seen a dramatic increase in the use of shared mobility options like bikes and e-scooters; and
WHEREAS, according to the National Association of City Transportation Officials, since 2010, Americans have taken 207 million trips on shared bikes and e-scooters; and
WHEREAS, 84 million trips were taken nationwide on shared bikes and e-scooters in 2018 alone, 38.5 million of those trips being on an e-scooter; and
WHEREAS, according to SDOT’s Bike Master Plan 2019-2024 Implementation Plan, ridership has increased from under 100,000 rides on selected routes (Spokane St. Bridge, Fremont Bridge, Elliott Bay Trail, and 2nd Avenue) in January 2017 to 150,000 rides on the same selected routes in January 2019; and
WHEREAS, most shared bikes and e-scooters are currently parked on sidewalks; and
WHEREAS, Seattle’s sidewalks are increasingly crowded; and
WHEREAS, SDOT’s 2019 Q1 bike share summary report found that 14.3 percent of bikes were obstructing pedestrian access; and
WHEREAS, existing bike parking may be located far from where people want to park their bikes and e-scooters, which limits the usability of Seattle’s bike network and increases the likelihood of bikes and e-scooters being parked improperly; and
WHEREAS, for people with disabilities, improperly parked bikes and e-scooters create significant barriers to navigating Seattle’s streets when bikes or e-scooters block access to sidewalks, curb ramps, building plazas and arcades, transit stops, benches, and other usable areas of our pedestrian space; and
WHEREAS, on-street bike and e-scooter parking in parking lanes gives people a place to park that doesn’t interfere with people walking and using wheelchairs on sidewalks; and
WHEREAS, on-street bike and e-scooter parking will help to enforce the existing restrictions on motor vehicles parking within 15 feet of an intersection, simultaneously improving drivers’ sightlines and making pedestrian crosswalks safer; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE THAT:
Section 1: The City Council requests that the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) develop a budget proposal for creating and expanding on-street bike and e-scooter parking corrals to accommodate bike parking racks and undocked micro-mobility devices, and discouraging parking of these devices in any non-designated areas. On most blocks with vehicle parking lanes, corrals can be built in the no-parking area adjacent to intersections. Where this is not possible, corrals can replace on-street car parking spaces, or be placed, when no alternative is available, in areas of the sidewalk where they do not block pedestrian access. The budget proposal should provide conceptual cost estimates for corrals placed near intersections, corrals replacing on-street parking, and corrals located on the sidewalk. The budget proposal should estimate the need for each of these types of facilities in order to provide bicycle, e-scooter, and micro-mobility parking on all block faces in Seattle, prioritizing connectivity with the frequent transit network, and the funding necessary to complete this effort. The budget proposal should include funding for additional staff needed to sufficiently add up to 3,000 multimodal parking spaces by the end of 2020. The budget proposal should include provisions for enforcing properly parked devices through financial penalties.
Section 2: The City Council requests that SDOT use revenue from e-scooter and bike share permits to fund expansion in 2020 of multimodal parking corrals and build bike parking, prioritizing locations with the highest density of bikes and e-scooters, such as transit hubs and urban villages, public buildings and services, and locations identified by the disability rights community and communities of color. SDOT should ensure that bike and e-scooter parking is distributed equitably and sufficiently across Seattle.
The City Council requests that SDOT submit this proposed policy in writing to all members of the Seattle City Council by September 20, 2019.
Adopted by the City Council the ________ day of _________________________, 2019, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its adoption this ________ day of _________________________, 2019.
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President ____________ of the City Council
Filed by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2019.
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Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk
(Seal)