Relevant news clip from 3/9/09:

Serving the Bike/Transit Commuter

How can we best facilitate transit service for those who arrive or depart on bikes?

Portland’s Tri-Met transit agency announced yesterday that it would spend $1 million of its stimulus funds on improving the region’s bike facilities near transit stations. The agency will invest in two major bike garages, such as that pictured here, as well as improving the existing bike stations throughout the system. Tri-Met will also apply for $1.7 million of funds from the Oregon Department of Transportation for another five bike garages.bikes

Portland isn’t alone in attempting to find ways to improve the commute for bike enthusiasts: Salt Lake City will build a new bike station downtown; last year, Washington announced its intention tocreate a large bike center just outside of Union Station

FULL ARTICLE here: http://thetransportpolitic.com/2009/03/10/serving-the-biketransit-commuter/

The bike racks were 100% full at at least one point last week.

http://www.designnewhaven.org/2008/06/momentum-builds-for-bike-friendly-union.html has the thread on this (not .com)

The racks were full again last week.

Also, for some reason, the New Haven Parking Authority's project to add more racks (which initially was supposed to be completed in April, or by the end of August at the latest) has been delayed for months.

Anyone know why?

I don't know what the hold-up is on the new racks. Someone should follow up with Bill Kilpatrick of NHPA.

On the bright side, I noticed that a new bike rack had been laid out in the existing rear parking area (truth be told, there is still a lot of room in that area for additional bike racks, particularly single inverted U-style racks, which are the preferred rack design with two points of contact).

However, as of Sunday Sept 6, the new rack had yet to be bolted down. I don't know how likely it is that someone would steal the whole thing, particularly when laden with bikes, but still, bolting the thing down is trivial should only require a single man-hour of labor. You just need a masonry bit and a few anchors and bolts from Home Depot.

Maybe NHPA is planning to bolt it down but just hasn't gotten around to it.

I'm relatively new to town and investigated this last fall, when the Union Station parking manager Sammy Parry told me that new racks would be installed in spring 2008 that would accommodate both bikes and scooters (I'm interested in commuting to the station by both methods).

Currently, there seem to be no options at all for scooter riders - can't use the racks, can't park in the garages or in the surface lot. The new spaces were intended for use by both bikes and scooters.

This project has been delayed, according to Parry, but there doesn't seem to be a timeline beyond "it will happen" (his words). In looking for information on a timeline or temporary measures for us, my August 26th email to Jim Travers in the NH city transportation department hasn't been answered.

I'll update if I hear anything new.

Thank you, please update. Brian, did you mean they said it would be completed in Spring 2009, not Spring 2008?

There is another scooter rider who emailed Jim Travers a couple weeks ago about this issue - I'll follow up with him to see if he has heard back anything about the timeline or other plans for scooter parking racks at the station.

Hi Mark,

The target completion date I originally heard back in December '08 was a confident six months: June '09.

My follow-ups were in late August, but nobody's gotten back to me yet or given me a revised target date.

Thanks Brian. There's some coverage of this here: http://downtownnewhaven.blogspot.com/2009/09/conndot-expands-free-parking-bus-to.html

Did anyone get back to you yet, Brian?

Mark -

Nope. Nothing.

maybe CONNDOT just thinks it is funny that the racks are full - ? none of the workers at connDOT bicycle anyways, they all drive fast SUVs

Did anyone find out why the installation of new racks, promised by the City, has been delayed by so many months?

Hi. In the end...can I (safely) park my by at Union Station if I am going away for the weekend?

I've left my bike there may times with no problems, but you have to learn about how to secure a bike properly. There are racks in the front, often totally full on weekends, as well as racks in the back (where you can usually squeeze in if you are lucky!)

More parking is needed, in the front of the station, ASAP! The visible cue of bikes stacked up on top of each other is a MAJOR DISINCENTIVE to biking in New Haven!!

I agree! Not only that, get this: Aside from the racks, there is a locked bicycle room. Keys are issued by the city for a fee, but the city is not issuing any new, supposedly.

In this room you will see maybe two usually sleek bikes, happily stored behind lock and key for some favored bicyclists. The city, according to the garage personnel, issued these keys for a fee, supposedly, but are not going to issue more. Supposedly any member of the public could pay for this key, but now they are phasing it out. When?

Seems to me, they are giving a very few special people access to the locked bike room and keeping it exclusive.

So, who are these aristocrats who have these exclusive keys to the incredibly undercrowded, locked bike room that is supposed to be available for a fee to the public while we cram our bikes into racks that are located all the way at the back of the garage????

Mark - I never got an answer to my original queries. Any ideas on how to press this?

I still can't quite figure out who has jurisdiction over this - the NH Parking Authority or a specific Union Station office.

And to Marge: I had no idea that the room was limited to a now-closed group of people. I always notice that it's nearly empty and assumed the reason was that it wasn't convenient or that getting through the door into a small room was more acrobatics than commuters wanted to deal with early in the morning.

This situation is starting to seem like an accountability-free zone. Is there a reasonable human being we can sit down with to talk about these issues?

The last I heard was at a meeting with Eugene Colonese about four months ago in which he showed me architectural renderings of the planned bicycle parking structure. But I haven't heard anything since then. Maybe a letter to Eugene Colonese and Bill Kilpatrick politely requesting an update on the project would be appropriate? This should be discussed at the Nov. 9 Elm City Cycling meeting. Interested watchers of this issue on SCL are encouraged to attend and lend their voices and support:

Elm City Cycling Monthly Meeting
6:00 pm in Meeting Room #2 at City Hall on Monday, Nov. 9.

The New Haven Parking Authority has jurisdiction not only over the garage, but over Union Station as well. Bill Kilpatrick is the man in charge of the new bicycle parking facility installation. But Eugene Colonese, CT Rail Administrator, should have the details on the project's progress as well.

I managed to wrangle a key to the secure facility in the garage. They are issued by the secretary in the New Haven Parking Authority office in Union Station (2nd floor I believe). But she is reluctant to issue any more keys because there are over 50 in circulation and the space often gets very crowded. I agree that the existing keyholders are being grandfathered in, and that the enclosure is not being used in the most efficient way.

But I think the best use of our energies is to push for expedited construction of the new bicycle parking shelter, citing the massive subsidies in place for vehicles parking at Union Station that Mark mentions. Car drivers pay only $70 or so per month to park at the station, way below market rate.

We should mention in our letter that the heavily-trafficked intersection of Union Ave and Columbus Ave is going to need traffic calming and signs warning drivers of the presence of turning cyclists. It wouldn't be a bad location for a raised crosswalk (and flashing lights!) along the sidewalk where cars enter and exit the garage (often hastily) from Union Ave.

Good idea on Union Ave and Columbus, Jason. Would ConnDOT pay for the traffic calming features you mention, which are so badly needed there? That road is part of Route 1, after all, so seems to be a state road jurisdiction.

The city and downtown stakeholders (such as Town Green improvement district) should prioritize the needed road work, as well as the multi-modal transportation access, as a key economic development and business retention issue.

Also, who has jurisdiction over the exit lane from the parking garage? That lane has been the scene of numerous crashes and must be addressed as well.

Anna,
I highly recommend the locked bike room, unless you have a couple of good bike locks and are taking your seat with you! I've had several bike parts stolen just leaving my bike in the front rack during the work day. If they won't issue you a key, email me at FairHavenRes{at}hotmail{dot}com and you can definitely borrow mine; I'm not using it right now.

thanks a lot 'FairHavenRes'. However, I will only need to leave my bike occasionally. I am not a regular commuter, and given the shortage, I don't think I should 'steal' the key to anyone else who might need it more than I do actually.

Today there is a NHPA board meeting at 5:30 at the Train Station offices -

FWIW

The new temporary racks are AWESOME! This is possibly THE BEST standalone row of bike racks I have ever seen (see photo)…and that’s saying something!

Thank you NHPA and citizens who made this happen!!

Now where are the secure and sheltered racks?

Closing and agreed with Tang that the new racks are great.
Save the clicky sign!

There is a major need for secure and sheltered racks, as indicated in the original issue.

Civic groups have been promised the completion of sheltered racks by April 2009; they still have not been installed.

Acknowledged By the Department.

The NH parking authority and Metro North authorities told Elm City Cycling, Railtec and other groups that racks would be installed no later than September 2010. A detailed timeline was provided to these groups and will be monitored.

I've followed this thread for awhile now, and thought some of these issues might be resolved. But no.

I tried to park my scooter (a 50cc Vespa) at the outermost bike rack under the garage. The guard at the gate said scooters were not allowed there. (The rack was only 10% full - chalk it up to the heat). A policeman said that I could not park a scooter at the bike rack off State Street by the entrance to the station. He also said it was illegal to chain it to a parking meter or sign and that scooters are supposed to park at streetside metered spots.

Now come on.

The meters are for 2 hours. The train ride to New York City is nearly 2 hours.

Not to mention that if I didn't lock it up, my scooter would be gone in 2 minutes.

This is insane. Bike racks that we could reasonably share are off-limits and moreover there seems to be no legal scooter parking at all for commuters at this station.

Is the NHPA the responsible agency or not? The guard made it sound like it was some kind of directive on high, but isn't the NHPA headquartered in the station itself? Or is it just impossible to find someone there who understands that you can park things other than cars?

Seriously. Is there any reasonable person working at this place?

Paul-

I forgot about this thread!

I started asking about this in early 2009 and was told by Sammy Parry, who I think is (or was) the director of parking at the station, that racks would be open to scooters by that summer.

That did not happen. My follow-up emails to him and the city traffic director - Mike Piscitelli - were unanswered. They were polite messages, coming from someone who was a fellow traveler (I work on infrastructure issues in NYC and was at NJ DOT), which made their unresponsiveness somewhat surprising.

The NHPA eventually returned one of my calls to tell me that scooter parking at the station was illegal, that there was no target date for changing this, and that the bike rack completion was delayed. It was a big STFU.

But I've found that the police don't bother with scooters. They have better things to do and they understand the issue. If you park across from the police station you'll be fine. Chain the bike to a pole or parking sign. Nobody will bother it. But be a little careful if you come back late at night. There aren't many streetlights, and on some nights there aren't other people around.

It would be safer, of course, if they let us park under the garage in that rack next to the tracks. But they either don't care about the issue or don't understand it. Milford, Fairfield, Stamford (and I'm pretty sure every other MetroNorth station on the NH Line) have been able to cope with this. You can drive right up to the station, chain up your scooter, and get on a train without a hassle, and you can be sure it'll be there when you get back and that you'll be safe when you're unlocking it, putting on your helmet, and getting ready to go.

I don't want to pass judgment on everybody working at the NHPA, but guys! It's not the 1970s! People bike and walk and ride scooters, and that doesn't make them hippies. New York City and New Jersey have both figured out a way to do this - and if in 2010 we treated cyclists and riders the way New Haven does, we'd have been out of jobs by now. You can't just pretend that the only people who ride bikes are kids and people who have DUIs.

There are probably 100 people who ride bikes and scooters to that station. If they needed 100 parking spots, they'd bond for a zillion dollars and build a new garage. Yet for 4 bike racks they're moving at a pace that makes me think they believe it's an unreasonable and expensive luxury.

I think Mark is monitoring this thread, and I'm sure he'll take note of your experience. The racks should be coming soon, but we'll see whether there's scooter access.

Brian, you crack me up:

"You can't just pretend that the only people who ride bikes are kids and people who have DUIs."

Indeed.

As Mark pointed out, at the January 5, 2010 Bicycle-Rail Integration Meeting at Union Station, NHPA Director Bill Kilpatrick said that the new parking would go in by Sept, 2010. The minutes read:

"Project is funded. Does not need FTC review. The Connecticut DOT is reviewing the final design. Once approval is received, bidding of contract will take 45-60 days. Actual construction time would be approximately 120 days. Mr. Colonese will try to expedite the ConnDOT review process. Approval should take 30-60 days, beginning today. Worst-case completion date is September, 2010."

At a subsequent bicycle-rail meeting on June 8, Mr. Kilpatrick was not present, but NHPA spokesman Sam Parry did not seem to know what the timeframe for the bike parking was when asked. This is somewhat disconcerting. We need to affirm that the Parking Authority is on track to install the parking by Sept 2010, since construction would presumably need to begin very soon, and there is no evidence of even the beginnings of site prep.

Jason,

See... that response from Parry is exactly what I mean. This project is just not a priority for the NHPA. If it isn't a car, it doesn't matter. Their replies always seem to have this tone of non-responsibility, and a flow like this:

1. We'll have it done by Friday.

2. We'll have it done by Friday, next month.

3. We'll have it done sometime in the future, but we're not sure when. In the meantime, you can't use our facility.

4. We never said we're doing that. Whoever said we were was mistaken.

Has anyone called Mr. Kilpatrick to follow up? I'll forward this issue to him, and hopefully he can respond here with the new timeline.

You can also reach him at wkilpatrick@nhparking.com if you have concerns.

The racks here were all full when I parked here last week, both the ones in front as well as in back.

I also received some private emails from citizens complaining about the situation.

According to someone at City Hall, the new racks have been bid out and will be complete in 5 months from today... is that accurate?

http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/100_new_bike_parking_spots_coming_to_union_station/

Shovels are supposed to be "in the ground" in a few weeks...

When is construction scheduled to begin?

The framework that will be used for the bicycle facility at Union Station is being fabricated. The wait on construction is a result of this process. Once fabrication has been completed, a construction date for the project will be announced.

Thank you.

What about scooter parking?

I would appreciate if the questions about scooter parking could at least be acknowledged.

"Closing and agreed with Tang that the new racks are great.
Save the clicky sign!"

The solari board is being replaced. The new LEDs are already purchased and are being worked on by the DOT, installation is set for spring, along with the new announcement system.

"Closing and agreed with Tang that the new racks are great.
Save the clicky sign!"

The solari board is being replaced. The new LEDs are already purchased and are being worked on by the DOT, installation is set for spring, along with the new announcement system.

Thank you TT&P for the update on construction schedule.

Note the NHPA director said on October 1st that "shovels will hit the ground in two to three weeks" (see article below).

Brian, a significant amount of scooter parking was presented in the initial drawings but I'm not sure now. Do you want to try calling Bill Kilpatrick to find out?

I called there a few moments ago and left a message.

Incidentally, I asked a guard about this last week and he said that it was his understanding that there would NOT be scooter parking in the new area.

The reason: there's gasoline in the scooter's tank.

Never mind that the cars in the garage all have gasoline.

I wish I was joking about this. You would think I asked if I could leave an ICBM there for the day.

Response from NHPA central office was that scooters are not going to be allowed. Was referred to Sammy Parry @ Union Station itself. Left him a message... we'll see what happens, but I'm not optimistic.

I was told, 2 yrs ago, that this would be changed within weeks. Then within months. Now not at all. Frankly, this is a little maddening.

I thought that scooters were included in the plans for the expansions. You can park a scooter at every other station on the Metro North line except New Haven. You can park one anywhere in Manhattan these days, and most other cities have realized that it makes sense to reduce congestion by encouraging people to do things other than get in their car, drive, and park. Perhaps the problem is that the NHPA revenues depend on paid parking, and there is no incentive for them to discourage driving as a result. Just a guess.

When I tell people that you can't park a scooter at New Haven's train station, they always have the same reply: "seriously?"

Any news, Brian?

Hey Brian, just curious if you heard back from Sammy Parry.

Hi Mark- Sorry for the delay. I didn't realize you asked for an update.

I spoke with Sammy Parry in early December and he said the new spots would be installed within weeks - in the mulched area between the garage and the open-air lot.

But I was there today, and nothing has happened. That area was plowed, so I thought it might be open for scooter parking, but the guard said he had no idea when the spaces are going to be installed or if scooter parking will even be included.

The bike racks were mostly empty, but I was told you still can't park a scooter there. No choice but to take a car until the snow melts around "no parking" signs on State so we can lock up there.

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2011/04/06/gripe_of_the_day/doc4d9c87e09168b754312724.txt

Looks like the new, covered bike racks are installed now next to the guard booth at the station, with 100+ new spaces. This will be a huge improvement.

Do folks here feel it is sufficient to close the issue, or should we keep it open until additional secure (indoor, locked/guarded) parking is also provided similar to other major train stations?

Image of new racks

My suggestion is to give credit where credit is due, and close out the issue. The City and the Parking Authority deserve acknowledgement for getting this facility built. We could open a second ticket down the road requesting secure, indoor bike parking, but I'd personally err on the side of a "one ticket, one fix" philosophy.

Kudos to Bill Kilpatrick, Sammy Parry, Eugene Colonese, and Mike Piscitelli for the roles each of them played in rolling out these awesome new bike racks.

needs to be fixed

I saw these last week. I would say this is fixed!

It's taken several years of persistence but I agree it's time to close the SeeClickFix issue on this. I will let the City know. Congrats to everyone who made it happen!

I'm closing this with a note that, while the new covered racks are a major improvement, there is still a very heavy public demand for secure overnight (indoor/bike station) parking at Union Station. The small indoor room at the station has a waiting list of many years. ECC and the City recently conducted a survey of 750+ cyclists that helps illustrate the demand - they will announce results in summer 2011.

fixed.

Thanks again. If the parking fills up on a regular basis, please re-open this or post a new issue.

Parking supply should exceed demand by a factor of at least 10%, otherwise, people will stop biking to the station.