A friend forwarded this NY times article about a new NYC law mandating that office buildings with freight elevators allow their use to give bike access to offices. At my last job, I was fortunate to work in a building where I had a bike room AND could bring my bike up to the office. Wish we had a policy like the NYC law here so that more people could enjoy the kind of access I had. It would be a huge boost to bike commuting.

How big an increase do you think we'd see if we had a law like this?

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I would love this. My building won't let me bring my bike up to my office, even after my previous bike was taken from the rack downstairs.
Anne - my building (550 W. Washington) is very progressive in this area. They allow indoor secure (guarded and racks to lock to) in the indoor (heated ;-) loading dock area. Bikes are signed in / out
daily. I assume for practical purposes (cleanliness, etc.) they are not allowed up the floors on the freight
elevator - but that's OK. knowing that there is a building guard there 24/7 (they have to register delivery people and tradesmen, etc.) is a very good feeling.

We also have a company fitness center (read : showers, soaps, shampoos, etc.) in the building so I just
keep several sets of work clothes here and never have to bring the nice clothes to/from work.


regarding the article : it's great to see NYC taking the lead. let's hope other cities will follow soon.

I believe it could spur an increase for the following reason : bikes and cyclists being visible in the office (vs. down on the street) will get people thinking it isn't that crazy. besides - everyone I know is fed up with public transportation; and driving is not an option.

just my $.02

DB
In my old building, bikes were brought in through the loading dock, where you signed in with the security guard before going to the freight elevator. The bike room was a few floors up, next to the fitness center, which had showers and lockers. To get access to the bike room and fitness center, you had to fill out an application with the office of the building and get access permission added to your security card. If you did not have that permission on your card, you could not get into either place.
I think the issue is: is the fear of bike theft strong enough in Chicago that some people who would like to bike to work, don't do so because they are afraid of their bikes getting stolen? This fear is VERY real in New York. In Chicago, I sometimes feel a little uneasy about leaving my bike outside, but I did it for two years at my old job without too many worries. I've never met anyone here who decided against bike commuting due to fear of theft.

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