How Many Office Buildings Will Volunteer to Go Bike-Friendly?

As the push to pass the "Bikes in Buildings Bill" (Intro 38) ramps up in the City Council, DOT has been engaged in a separate but parallel effort to promote bike access and parking in office buildings. The Real Estate Board of New York has posted material on its web site -- prompted by a letter from DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan [PDF] -- about how building managers can help their tenants who want to commute by bike [download the presentation].

In a letter to his members [PDF], REBNY President Steven Spinola gets behind indoor bike parking in principle, but opposes the creation of a legal mandate:

There are a couple of interesting things going on here. One, it's important to note that Intro 38 does not "require office buildings to provide bicycle parking." Many building managers are already in compliance with that bill's open-ended language simply by virtue of allowing tenants to bring bikes inside their offices. Spinola is probably referring instead to stronger language in PlaNYC about the need for indoor bike parking (see the bottom of this page).

Two, Spinola's encouragement of bike parking is a step forward, but will voluntary measures be enough? A few workplaces have gotten past the strange cultural aversion to bike parking. If they remain the exception despite this DOT campaign, a more forceful law than Intro 38 may be in order.