Park This! Getting it Wrong on the 'Parking Problem' at Train Stations and Elsewhere

If I worked for an ad agency, I'd propose the following television commercial: a professional woman drives an open and pristine Mercedes convertible up to an average train station. She pulls in past the cab line, bounces it up the curb (just missing a pedestrian) and stops when the front fender bangs into a dirty galvanized pipe next to an overflowing trash can. She turns off her motor, takes a heavy chain, and, after threading it through the steering wheel and the spokes of her front rim, locks the convertible to the pipe before picking up her bag and walking casually to her train.

Words would then appear on the screen, accompanied by a voiceover from, say, Morgan Freeman or Laura Linney: 'You wouldn't park your car like this. Why would you park your bike like this? More Bike Parking = More Car Parking. Support better parking and access for bicycle commuters.'

Fade to black.

Once again, we are looking at an issue, in this case, the lack of parking spaces at train stations, the wrong way. We think of it as a 'problem' when it is really the symptom of a problem, which is that people don't have a lot of viable options when they want to take the train somewhere. With lousy bike parking, little in the way of bike lanes and bikes themselves not permitted on trains most of the time, guess what people like me typically do when we want to get to the railway station?

That's right: we drive cars.

It makes sense for most people, but as a person living just under two miles from a train station, I'd be happy to take a bike most of the time instead (and thus freeing up a parking space at the station for someone who really needs it) if Metro North, Amtrak, owners of parking garages and others made it easier.

Part of what I wrote bears repeating: If I rode a bike to the train station, I wouldn't take up a parking space. If you're a driver who rolls your eyes, passes too close, shouts 'use the sidewalk!' (I'm talking to you, Ford Explorer guy) when passing a person on a bike, please remember that we aren't always cycling to show off our weird outfits: we're often biking because we aren't driving, and you have access to a parking space that wouldn't otherwise be avaiable if we drove.

I was face to face with this issue a few months ago when I served on a jury for nearly three weeks at Stamford Superior Court. My civic duty was inconvenient enough, but each time I rode a bike there I'd have to chain it to a thin piece of chain link fence just inside the garage since there was no rack. If other bikes were chained there, I'd have to push it against the fence in a finish-scuffing manner. Each day, it would get banged up even more if someone else wanted to lock their bike since they'd usually cram it against mine.

On the second to last day of the trial the parking garage was full and blocked by an orange cone. Thus, some of my fellow jurors - and who knows who else - had to park their cars a considerable distance from the courthouse. I rolled past the orange cone, chained the bike to the fence as usual, and snapped a quick picture. I didn't feel smug because I had ridden and was able to get to court on time, but I wondered how many others would have considered riding a bike to the courthouse if they knew a good bike parking area would be available. It may have been just enough to keep the garage from having to close its doors that morning and inconveniencing drivers and non-drivers alike.

So if we want to look at the parking issue productively, it has to be through the lens of figuring out how to get people where they want to go, not figuring out how to get a motor vehicle to sit between two painted lines. Increasing the supply of parking spaces is difficult and expensive, so let's instead look at ways to reduce demand - and that involves asking different questions than we've ever asked.

Suppose parking garages would take their first four or five spaces - the ones you see right when you pull into the garage - and put bike lockers there? Everyone who drove up to collect a ticket to park a car would see them every time they did so, and some would wonder: why should I spend $8 to park a car when I could park my bike for a lot less in a secure place shielded from thieves and the elements? 

What if we actually made an effort to put bike lanes on city streets and started ad campaigns to encourage cyclists and drivers to respect one another? (Note to cyclists: stop running red lights and start using hand signals!)

How many parking spaces at train stations would suddenly become available if Metro North and Amtrak allowed bicycle commuters to bring their bikes onto trains during peak hours? I know some moan about the amount of space a bike might take up on a train, but come on: wouldn't we go a lot further making sure everyone would have a seat by starting a 'Don't Be A Jerk!' campaign targeting people who sprawl their stuff on the space next to them or pretend to sleep on the inside seat? And wouldn't you rather step a few inches out of your way to avoid a bike commuter - who'd obey all instructions from the conductor - instead of missing your train entirely because that person took a car to the station instead and snagged the last parking space?

Please ask those questions more often. You might like the answers.

Fade to black.

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Mike Norris is the founding edtior of DIYBIKING.COM, a site dedicated to casual cycling, random builds, and bike travel. He lives and works in Stamford and owns one 3,300 lb. SUV and 8 and 3/16 bicycles. He can be reached at connecticutmike@gmail.com