MYNORTHWEST BLOG
Seattle experiments with bikeshare parking stalls in Ballard
Mar 16, 2018, 12:45 PM | Updated: Mar 18, 2018, 7:47 am
After Seattle’s station-based bikeshare failed, stationless companies rolled into town. But free-floating bikes are not always parked properly. So Seattle officials think they have a solution — stations.
RELATED: Results of Seattle bikeshare pilot
Ballard is ground zero for an experiment by the Seattle Department of Transportation. There are five locations in Ballard where SDOT painted bikeshare parking stalls. They are located in “furniture zones” of the neighborhood’s sidewalks. Bikeshare patrons are supposed to park within the furniture zone in the first place.
According to SDOT:
To help better organize bikeshare bikes where we’ve seen lots of use in the city, we’re experimenting with designated bikeshare bike parking areas. We’ve selected five ‘sidewalk furniture zone’ locations along NW Market Street in Ballard where we’re encouraging bikeshare users to park their bikeshare bikes.
SDOT considers the painted bikeshare parking stalls temporary. It’s gauging how effective they are. Officials assessed the areas for compliance before they were painted. SDOT will monitor how well they are used now and see if bikeshare parking becomes more orderly.
Bikeshare parking
The bikeshare parking stalls in Ballard are about 6’x10′. SDOT says the stalls leave six feet for pedestrians to walk and do not block access to buildings, transit stations, or curb ramps. The stalls were placed in areas where the bikeshare rides have more often been found.
RELATED: Former SDOT director goes to work for Limebike bikeshare
Bikeshare parking stalls in Ballard are located at:
- North side of Market, west of Ballard Avenue (in front of Shakti Yoga)
- NE corner of Leary and Market (Ballard Beer Company)
- SE corner of Leary and Market (AT&T store)
- SW corner of Tallman and Market (All the Best Pet Care)
- North side of Market just W of Russel (Kangaroo and Kiwi)
As a reminder, here is former SDOT exec Kyle Rowe explaining how to properly park a bikeshare bike in Seattle. Rowe has left SDOT and now works for SPIN, a bikeshare company.
