Bikeable Design

The Bikeable Design Toolkit is a guide on how to implement effective bicycle facilities and amenities into private development and ultimately create a more bicycle-friendly city. The toolkit supplements the vision and requirements laid out by the City of Los Angeles in its 2011 Bicycle Master Plan and 2013 Bicycle Parking Ordinance (LAMC Ord. No. 182386), and also includes recommendations for best practices from around the world.

This guide is intended for developers, planners, designers, and any other parties interested in best practices for creating a bicycle-friendly private development. It should be used during the early stages of site and building design to help identify where and what type of bicycle infrastructure should be included in the site for new development. It can also be used for existing development to retrofit their site and building for improved bikeability.

It contains the key elements of effective bicycle implementation and provides recommended guidelines, dimensions, and resources for each element. These design strategies include: short-term and long-term parking, lockers, showers, workshop stations, wayfinding and signage, lighting, and connections to transit and the bikeways system. A simple list of design strategies can be found on pages 6-7 of the document to provide a quick reference and summary of all the design strategies for including bicycle facilities in new private development.

This toolkit also has examples based on site typology (retail, office, and multi-family), and explains how bicycle needs vary with different land uses. It also demonstrates how to calculate parking, shower, and locker requirements as listed by the Bicycle Parking Ordinance.

It concludes with a list of helpful resources and reference materials for further information on creating bicycle-friendly development. They include information on Los Angeles policies and programs, bicycle advocacy organizations, sample bicycle parking regulations from around the country, innovative ideas from around the world, bicycle parking and urban design guidelines from North America, and standards for the Americans with Disabilities Act. The appendix at the end contains the Los Angeles City Bicycle Parking Ordinance and guidance for the bicycle parking requirements.