Leeway For Garages To Store Rides
Regulations enacted two years ago requiring that parking garages in New York City provide space to store bicycles were revised under a law signed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg last Tuesday, Dec. 27.
The mayor approved Intro. No. 720, which enables parking garage operators to use several methods by which to park bicycles-either by using racks in a designated space in the garage or on racks hung from walls.
The new law amends Local Law 51, which was signed by Bloomberg two years ago mandating that parking garages throughout the city provide at least one bicycle space for every 10 vehicle parking spaces, up to 200 automobile spots. It was noted that the original law had required operators to designate a portion of their facility exclusively for the storage of bicycles.
“Since that time, we have learned that the exact size requirements of the law have been overly burdensome on some business owners, especially for
–SEE VEHICLES ON PG. 30- garages where the spaces are not always utilized,” Bloomberg said. “Based on these experiences, today we are amending that law to give garage operators the flexibility to safely secure the bikes in their garage in the way that works best for them- all while maintaining the same number of required spaces.”
The new law allows parking garages to use racks, hooks, poles and other devices to secure the same number of bicycles to automobiles as designated in Local Law 51. Garages can use a combination of designated spaces located at least two feet away from automobile spots or mounting the bicycles onto wall racks and hooks.
Each garage remains obligated to provide storage for at least one bicycle for every 10 automobile spaces it has, up to 200 total vehicle spots. Garages with more than 200 automobile spaces must provide space to store one bicycle for every 100 additional parking spots.
The law further requires parking garage operators to secure each bicycle with the customer’s own locks, chains or other security devices-or to provide the same for bicyclists who do not have them at the time they wish to park their two-wheeled ride.
Intro. No. 720 was sponsored in part by local City Council Members Karen Koslowitz, Jimmy Van Bramer, Daniel Dromm, Stephen Levin and James Gennaro.
On another traffic matter, the mayor also signed last Tuesday Intro. No. 643, which enables the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) to collect the commercial motor vehicle tax on all medallion taxicabs and other vehicles licensed by the agency which are not registered in New York State.
According to the mayor, “a significant number of the TLC’s licensees have addresses outside the city and state, and many of them have not been paying the tax.” Previously, the city’s Department of Finance collects the tax from the city’s yellow cab operators, while the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles receives the tax for all other types of livery vehicles licensed by the TLC.
