Request a Bike Rack on Public Property
The City of Pasadena installs bike racks in the public right-of-way to make daily bicycle use convenient. Locations are selected based on public requests through the Pasadena Citizen Service Center (search “bike rack”) and the location’s conformance to the guidelines below. As each location is unique, each request will be evaluated by City staff on a case-by-case basis before being approved for a bike rack. Bike rack installations will be prioritized based on the likely demand of bike parking at each location. Installations will occur periodically in batches.
The Pasadena Citizen Service Center is a centralized service to help Pasadena residents connect with the appropriate City services and is available via web, LiveChat (bottom right of the webpage), mobile app (Android, iOS) and phone (626-744-7311).
General Bike Parking Guidelines on both Public and Private Property
- The footprint of a typical bicycle is approximately 6’ long by 2’ wide.
- All racks should be placed in a way to accommodate at least a 6’ long bicycle (3’ of clearance on both sides of the center of the rack).
- Pedestrian travel paths of at least 5’ wide must be maintained in order to provide accessibility for all users.
- All racks should be placed in a manner that maintains a clear line of travel for all pedestrian path users.
- All racks should be placed at least 3’ away from other streetscape amenities such as benches and trash cans.
- Racks cannot be placed in conflict with utility access points, boxes, poles, storm drains, trees, or any other existing physical streetscape infrastructure.
- All racks should be placed in high-trafficked areas near building frontages or other sources of “eyes on the street” for security and peace of mind.
- Sidewalk racks should be placed at least 2’ away from the curb and ideally 3’ away from the curb when adjacent to on-street parking.
- Sidewalk racks shall not be placed within a bus or handicap parking zone in order to maintain passenger loading and unloading.
- Sidewalk racks should be oriented perpendicular to curb faces in order to minimize car loading conflicts where feasible but only if sufficient sidewalk width is available.
Preferred Bike Rack Type
While the City does not have a standardized bike rack model, the City currently installs and recommends flange mounted, 34”-36” tall, power-coated inverted U-racks made of square steel tubing. This type of rack provides two points of contact and can be used by most if not all bicycle shapes and sizes. Square tubing is preferred over round tubing as round tubing is more susceptible to commercial pipe cutting tools. The City currently uses and recommends tamper proof bolts for installation. This “Inverted U” square tube bike rack is commercially available and can be procured by most general contractors.
Further Bike Parking Questions
Further questions related to bike parking such as maintenance, damage, or requests for removal, can be directed through the same bike rack request page on the Pasadena Citizens Service Center.