Support Secure Cycle Parking in South Pasadena!

Existing "Hitch" Style Bicycle Racks at Garfield Park in South Pasadena

Wednesday, November 20, 2019 the South Pasadena City Council will vote on a $200,000+ contract to install new bicycle parking citywide. The good news is this grant-funded project -- first awarded to the City back in 2012 -- is finally moving forward after years of extensions and delays. The not so good news is that several important public requests are not in the latest implementation plan. These include focusing new bicycle parking in the downtown business districts (rather than parks or recreational trails with limited demand for bike parking) and making inverted U-style racks the program default (rather than the less functional "hitch" style racks pictured above).

In advance of the meeting City staff has issued an updated Staff Report, which includes photographs of every proposed location for new bike parking in the City. In a nutshell, staff is recommending that the City move forward with the grant as originally envisioned, utilizing 100 Hitch-style racks (rather than inverted-U racks) and placing most bicycle parking outside of the City’s central business districts. 

To help sift through all this information, ActiveSGV staff put together a Google Map of the locations where the City currently proposes bike parking be installed (green icons), where bike parking currently exists (orange icons), and where bike parking was requested by the public over the past few years (purple icons). Click here to view the map.

Interactive Map of Proposed (Green), Existing (Red), and Public Requests for (Purple) Bike Parking

Project Recommendations1. Remove a minimum of (25) proposed bike racks from park and other locations with limited demand and/or existing, underutilized bicycle parking. Staff’s current plan proposes installing 75% of new bike parking in areas that do not directly serve local businesses (map). ActiveSGV recommends that at least 50% of new bike parking be placed adjacent to businesses, given strong community preference for bike parking in these areas.    

1. Arroyo Seco Trail (remove 8) - 5 Hitch racks are located at this location less than 20’ from the 8 proposed new racks. Existing racks are rarely, if ever, used. This location does NOT necessitate additional bicycle parking, let alone 2 parking shelters.
2. Garfield Park (4) - The 8 existing Hitch racks at this location are very lightly used. Staff proposes adding 4 more racks. Additional bicycle parking is not needed at this location. 
3. Eddie Park (2) - 4 racks proposed. Based on use at other parks, the small size of this park, and limited park usership, no more than 2 new racks needed.  
4. Orange Grove Park (2) - 4 racks proposed. Based on use at other parks, we suggest installing 2 new racks at this location. 
5. Library (5) - 10 racks proposed. Based on current use, we recommend only installing 5 racks.
6. SPUSD Building (2) - 5 racks proposed. Location does not serve many local destinations, suggest reducing to 3 racks. 
7. Marengo Elementary (2) - 4 racks proposed. Bike parking located off of school grounds is most suitable for parents/guardians, not student use, given higher risk of theft when located off school grounds. We suggest reducing to 2 racks.
8. Arroyo Vista Elementary (1) - 3 racks proposed. Recommend reducing by 1 to provide more parking in business districts.
   
   

2. Relocate racks to the City’s key business districts along Mission St., Fair Oaks Ave., and Huntington Dr., including spaces near the following business locations:

1. Fair Oaks Ave.
   1. Baskin Robbins / Winchells / Twoheys
   2. Starbucks / Jersey Mikes
   3. Shakers
   4. Bristol Farms
   5. The Coffee Bean
   6. The Canoe House
   7. Verizon / Gus’
   8. Mamma’s Brick Oven
   9. Ai Japanese
2. Mission Street 
   1. On-Street Bicycle Corral
   2. Minimum 1 rack per block, per side
      
      

3. Relocate (2) shelters from the Arroyo Seco Trail. There is no documented demand for bicycle parking by the Arroyo Seco Trail. These shelters should be placed where they can provide co-benefits, such as shade to transit users. Business-adjacent locations that upon cursory review have sufficient space for a shelter include in front of KFC on Huntington Drive and South Pasadena Middle School on Fair Oaks Avenue. These locations would benefit from bike parking and currently provide no shade for adjacent transit stops.

4. Install a “Cycle Corral” on Mission Street near the Gold Line. Multiple businesses on the block of Mission Street between Meridian and Diamond have requested but not received bicycle parking over the past two years, including Jones Coffee, Munch Company, Oculus Optometry, Mission Ten Eleven, and Rosebuds and Rosestuds. Since sidewalk space is limited, we strongly recommend converting red curb and/or a space of street parking to a bicycle parking corral. ​​

Bike corral with street mural (image via Google Maps)

5. Purchase generic, easier-to-use “Hitch” racks in a higher-visibility color, if there is no way to purchase inverted-U racks. While far less accessible for users, a Hitch rack without a complex design in the center would be easier to lock to. It would also cost an estimated $100-$200 less per unit to fabricate, saving the City limited grant funds. We recommend the use of a brighter, city-consistent color such as orange to make it easier to identify new bicycle parking.

“Hitch” rack without custom design (Image courtesy of School Outfitters.com)

Take Action!

Wednesday’s meeting may be the final opportunity to encourage the City to address these issues. As always, public input is critical. There are two primary ways you can weigh in. 

1) GREATEST IMPACT: Attend the meeting Wednesday 11/20 and provide public comment directly. There are only two Action/Discussion items currently on the City’s agenda, Item #21 - Adoption of the City Green Action Plan and Item #22 - Bicycle Parking. We are hopeful the item will be discussed by 8:30pm.

• What: South Pasadena City Council Meeting, Agenda Item #22
• Meeting Agenda and Staff Report: See Item #22 - Link
• Where: Council Chambers, 1414 Mission Street, South Pasadena 91030
• When: Wednesday, November 20, 2019 (7:30pm start)
• Who: Anyone who would like to see better bike/micro-mobility parking in South Pasadena

2) ALSO HELPFUL: Email the South Pasadena City Council and let them know you support secure, convenient, and accessible bicycle parking. Short, personal emails are generally most effective. A sample email can be found below. Emails should be sent to the City Council: ​​

• cco@southpasadenaca.gov 
• mcacciotti@southpasadenaca.gov
• dmahmud@southpasadenaca.gov
• rjoe@southpasadenaca.gov
• mKhubesrian@southpasadenaca.gov 
• Rdschneider0@yahoo.com

Sample Email (please personalize)
Dear Members of the South Pasadena City Council,


As a local [resident/stakeholder/shopper] who supports a more sustainable, multimodal South Pasadena, I am writing today to encourage the City to improve the latest draft proposal for citywide bicycle parking. 


Downtown South Pasadena continues to lack bicycle parking, an overlooked barrier to using a bicycle or scooter as a means of healthy, active mobility for short trips around town. The City’s current proposal for new bicycle parking would only partially address this issue by focusing most new bicycle parking in parks and other sites not conveniently located by businesses. 


This oversight could be easily addressed by shifting some proposed bike parking from areas where ample parking already exists -- such as Garfield Park and the Arroyo Seco Trail -- to the City’s key downtown corridors, especially Fair Oaks Avenue and Mission Street.

Thank you,

ActiveSGV Comment Letters

• November 6, 2019 Meeting Comment Letter
• November 20, 2019 Meeting Comment Letter