Share, rate, review and improve bike parking locations
BikeRackMap.com provides cyclists with the tools to quickly and easily create a bike parking census
The keys to increasing the potential cycling population are
Safe Shared Streets and
Safe, Secure and Convenient Bike Parking
CyclistVideoEvidence.com empowers cyclists to help create Safe Shared Streets
BikeRackMap.com empowers cyclists to help create Safe, Secure and Convenient Bike Parking
How To Videos
Navigate our map and add your ratings and reviews
Add bike parking locations and evaluations
Analyze, edit and update your bike parking locations
Frequently Asked Questions
To access the mobile menu just click the hamburger button shown in the first image below.
It will expand and display all the menu selections shown in the second image below.
Click the circles which identify clusters of bike parking locations as shown below, use two fingers to zoom in on mobile, or use your scroll wheel on a desktop computer
To add a rack location:
- Add a Location name following the instructions provided by clicking the question mark after each field as shown below
- Take a photo with your mobile camera
- Click the “Get my current position” button to zoom the map to your current location
- Click the full screen button to maximize the map
- Zoom all the way into your rack location using the map view button and 360 degree satellite view button in the upper left as shown below
- Drag the pegman icon, as shown below, onto the map for a 360 degree street view to exactly locate the rack, see how it is installed, if it is obstructed or has difficult access etc.
- Return to satellite view and click the the map to drop a pin on top of your rack location. This will automatically fill in all of the address fields including the GPS coordinates
Click a pin on the map and scroll down to see more information under the photo as shown below. Then, under the photo, Click here for ratings, reviews and evaluation.
Some of the different bicycle styles and attachments that should be accommodated from the City of Boston.
The image below lists recommended racks by cycling friendly cities.
The image below lists racks that are prohibited by the City of Sacramento Bike Rack Design and Placement Design standards and other cycling friendly cities.
The second Add Bike Rack Location page has check boxes for the ten bike parking evaluation criteria shown in the list and in the image below. Each choice has a question mark that expands with an explanation of the choice.
- Obstructed – If there is not enough clearance all around the rack to easily roll the bike in and out of the rack.
- Difficult access – If the bike has to be rolled up into a vertical position or lifted into the rack.
- Unstable – Wobbles if not properly secured to the ground.
- Thin tubes – Can easily be cut with a hacksaw or a pipe cutter.
- No frame contact – Racks that require cyclists to roll their front wheel into the racks are called wheel-benders because they put all the weight of the bike on the front wheel. They provide no point of frame contact.
- One frame contact – Only one point of frame contact is unstable so the bike will roll away from the rack or lean precariously.
- Two frame contacts – Bike stability requires that the frame can easily lean against the rack with two points of frame contact. This allows a U lock to be securely combined with a cable through both wheels. Upside down, inverted, “U” racks provide two contact points.
- Video Monitoring – The rack is in view of 24/7 video monitoring, the monitoring is operational, and the video is saved for at least a week.
- Thefts – Thefts have been reported at this rack.
- High visibility – Racks are painted bright yellow and visible from a distance so cyclists can quickly locate bike parking. Racks are placed adjacent to the entrance so cyclists have the closest access, can see their bike from inside the establishment, and everyone entering and exiting sees them. This is the best method to prevent vandalism and theft, and it lets everyone know this business/organization wants to attract cyclists. Preferential access also encourages people to consider riding their bike instead of using their car.
Racks are rated from 0 – 5 stars based on our ten evaluation criteria.
As cyclists, our goal must be to promote excellent, 4 star, or outstanding, 5 star, bike parking that accommodates all bikes, up to and including fat tire e-bikes with baskets used for active transportation.
- Unusable – minimal contact to a part of the front wheel, aka wheel benders
- Bare minimum – such as a wave rack or school yard rack that are prohibited in most cycling-oriented cities. Bikes can be leaned against the ends of a wave or school yard rack for one frame contact point but that is not how they were designed to be used and limits the racks to two bikes. Bikes can also be leaned parallel to a wave rack which is analogous to a big pickup truck taking up multiple parking spaces by parking horizontally across spaces instead of within the rectangular parking space.
- Basic – two frame contact points but other negative rating criteria: thin tubes that can be easily cut or broken, low visibility from the entrance to the establishment or business, obstructed, difficult access, unstable
- Good – two frame contact points with a mix of negative and positive evaluation criteria
- Excellent – all positive criteria but not covered
- Outstanding – all positive criteria and covered
As cyclists, our goal must be to promote excellent, 4 star, or outstanding, 5 star, bike parking that accommodates all bikes, up to and including fat tire e-bikes with baskets used for active transportation.
What does a 4 star rack look like?
Make sure you rate your rack location based on how well a bike with baskets can access and fit into the rack as shown below. The racks below are an excellent example of bike parking for eight cargo bikes with baskets because there is room all around the racks to enter and exit the racks, there are two points of contact for the bike frame to be locked to the rack which is key for bike stability, and the racks are in a well lit and high visibility area near the entrance which is the best way to deter theft and vandalism. The one negative is that the racks are not covered to protect bikes and cyclists from rain, snow, and high scalding temperatures.
For these reasons, we would rate these racks four stars out of five.
What does a 1 star rack look like?
Wave racks are bad racks because they are designed to roll the front wheel into the rack and therefore have no frame contact to lock your bike to the rack. Any bike with a basket that is used for transportation has to be leaned against the end of the rack as shown below. This awkward and unstable position can make it difficult to lock the bike to the rack, and takes up extra pedestrian space as shown below.
Locking your bike horizontally goes against the rack design and takes up multiple spaces, like a big pickup truck that takes up multiple parking spaces by parking horizontally across spaces instead of within the rectangular space
For this and a couple other reasons, we rated this rack a 1 star out of 5 stars.
