Bike Parking Guidelines

A New Zealand guide for bike parking and end of trip facilities.

Also available as a PDF Download

Why Bike Parking?

Encouraging cycling as a transport option has many benefits to individuals, businesses and communities.  Economically it makes sense, reducing traffic congestion and health related expenditure.  Central and Local government are investing in cycling as a transport choice, creating bike lanes and other infrastructure in public spaces.  

Private and commercial design and development should reflect the changing transport patterns and demand that results from this investment.  Overseas examples show this makes business sense:

Australian property manager Colliers reports that end of trip facilities, like showers, lockers and bike parking, have been “considered more important than car parking for some time now.”

Auckland property manager Precinct reports that such “Facilities are critical to attraction and retention of talent”.

Key Principles

1. Provide sufficient bike parking and end of trip facilities to support expected demand for cycling as an active transport mode.
2. Ensure the quality of cycle parking ‘hardware’ both in design and installation.
3. Ensure cycle parking and end of trip facilities are designed with bike users in mind.
4. Recognise the role of end of trip facilities (such as showers and lockers) in encouraging other forms of healthy activity in the workplace in addition to biking.
5. Provide sufficient and separate bike parking for bicycle users which reflects the different needs of each group (residents; visitors; customers; staff; members of public) as well as the different ways bicycles can be used for transport.  

Key Steps in Bike Parking Provision

1. What is needed and what are the options?

Bicycle parking needs to cater for current and expected future users.  These may be short or long stay users, or both.  Start with identifying:

1. Who needs bike parking? Employees, residents, visitors?
2. How long do they park their bikes for?
3. What other requirements (e.g. council requirements* or greenstar accrediation requirements) do you need to meet?

Working with stakeholders will help greatly – this could be employees or residents who bike, and/or  a local bicycle user group.

*Minimum requirements for bicycle parking may be outlined in your local authorities district plan.  Otherwise use our suggested rates.

2. Create a Plan

Work with your stakeholders including:

• bike users
• building owners
• facility managers
• local authorities (for public land)
• other user groups (e.g. business association, residents association).

Clearly identify:

• What is needed
• Constraints
• Installation considerations (e.g. disruption)
• On-going management considerations (cleaning, maintenance, security, administration of keys etc).

Identify who can help you develop a detailed design, e.g. landscape architect, bike parking consultant, etc.

3. Develop the Design

Once you have the user needs, an outline plan and constraints identified, you can start working on the design.  Use the information in this guide to help you ensure you are meeting the best practice requirements for what makes good bike parking, both in terms of the hardware, design and installation.  Using an outside expert and getting a number of proposals/quotes to consider will be advantageous.

4.  Review with Stakeholders

Review proposed designs with key stakeholders to ensure their needs are met.  This is a good time to identify any requirements missing from initial scoping, e.g. e-bike charging, cargo bike parking, etc.

5. Installation

Ensure your supply contracts reflect the elements agreed upon with stakeholders, and the installation plans meet their requirements also.

Decide with stakeholders how you will manage any disruptions, and how you will ‘test’ and sign off on the new facilities.

Plan for how you will communicate the new facility to users including: signage, announcements, launch events, related promotions, etc.

6. Maintain and Enhance

Ongoing management of the bicycle parking facility should include:

• Regularly cleaning and checks to ensure the facilities are sound and haven’t been damaged or tampered with
• Monitoring use and adding capacity, signage or communication where needed
• Planning and provision of complementary facilities or enhanced facilities (e.g. secure parking, ebike charging, cargo bike parking) as needed.

Bike Parking Guidance

Click on each section to read it.

Sources of Further Information

NZTA Bicycle Parking Technical Note

The NZTA have published a Cycle Network Guidance Technical note “Cycle Parking Planning and Design”.