Spacing Basics

Many people who want to provide bike parking often want to know the basics: bike capacity, how much space they need, and general set-back information.

The short answer to all of these questions is: it varies. In this section, we'll provide some good general guidelines, but remember depending on your specific location and needs these recommendations are just that: recommendations.

We do hope to help you avoid mistakes like this →

Demand

How many bikes do you need to park at your business, office, or residential building? The easiest baseline way to answer this question is to contact your city or town government and confirm any minimum ordinances or mandates applicable.

If you don't have a minimum or want be proactive refer to this chart from the Victoria Transportation Policy Institute in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is among the most respected set of guidelines in the world.

← Click the image to download the PDF.

Capacity and Space Use

Once the amount of parking has been determined, you will naturally need to make sure that adequate space is provided. Here are several diagrams to show you how different bike parking systems fill a particular space with optimal spacing and setbacks.

Please keep in mind that these dimensions are our recommendations for a typical inverted-u style rack and the actual dimensions may vary for other racks and your particular site.

Setbacks

Of course, a bike rack can only park the maximum number of bikes if it is has proper setbacks from obstructions. Also, a bike rack shouldn't obstruct other objects such as street furniture, access doors, or right of way.

The diagram to the left shows some general guidelines for setbacks. This illustration is based on recommendations by the District of Columbia Department of Transportation.