Bike and Walk Salem issues Final Memo 12 on Code and Planning

One of the first final bike memoranda has been out for a couple of weeks now. Final Technical Memorandum Number 12: Plan and Code Amendments (28pp, 1mb) discusses policy goals, street design, bike parking quantities and standards, and some other stuff.

It's hard to know what to say about it all. It's probably the most wonky-nerdy document of the final reports. My eyes glazed and I struggled with the code language - with seeing the forest instead of just the trees.

Maybe folks who know more about planning and code will be able to chime in with more specific observations.

Things that stood out were:

• Two sets of standards, one for short-term, and another for long-term bike parking.
• Provisions for covered bike parking.
• Improved quantities (ratios) of bike parking.
• Simplifying the category and ratio spaghetti in table 133-1.
• Standards that will exclude wheel-bender, toast and comb racks.
• Improved visibility for bike parking.

Things maybe not so good:

• "Bicycle parking may be located anywhere on the site, provided it is visible from a primary building entrance and is no further from the primary building than the furthest vehicle parking area." Current standard is for no more than 50 feet from primary entry. This could allow bike parking considerably farther than 50 feet, stuck on the far side of a large parking lot.
• 6-foot accessways may be too narrow for facilities designed for both walking and biking.

If you read it - or parts of it that interest you - please share your thoughts!