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Motorcyle Parking Guidelines
Information Sheet 5- Providing for Motorcycles
This leaflet offers advice and guidance to developers on providing for motorcycle parking within new developments. It should be read in parallel with similar leaflets covering car and bicycle parking. The term motorcycles is used here to include mopeds and scooters.
Motorcycles are a good way to travel around, for many journeys they are quicker than the car, they cause less congestion, and can be less polluting than a car. Motorcycle parking takes up less space than car parking, and therefore is cheaper to provide both in terms of land and construction costs. Therefore it makes commercial and environmental sense for businesses to provide motorcycle parking for their staff and customers.
If people are to be encouraged to use motorcycles the design of the parking facilities needs careful thought. Fear of theft is one of the biggest deterrents to motorcyclists.
Motorcycle parking should be located:
- Where it has good all round visibility, ideally from office windows, local shops and passers-by.
- As close as possible to the main entrance(s) of buildings, but not so that it hinders or endangers pedestrians, especially the disabled. On larger sites this may mean that it is better to locate motorcycle parking in a number of areas.
- In areas with good lighting in the hours of darkness.
A well-designed motorcycle parking bay will include the following features:
- A ground anchor or rail to which the motorcycle can be securely locked. This should not be capable of being removed from the ground, flanged ends concreted into the ground are important. Adequate room must also be provided to allow access to the security device and to manoeuvre the motorbike into the space.
- Good lighting and clear signing is essential.
- When motorcycles are likely to be parked for over 1 hour, then some form of weather protection is encouraged, this should include a roof and protection on 3 sides, and the side panels must be designed to deter theft.
For larger developments the provision of shower/changing/drying facilities and lockers (to enable the storage of clothing and equipment) are important to encouraging motorcycling.
The Council has not adopted specific motorcycle parking standards, but it is recommended that a minimum of 2 spaces be provided, or 1% of the maximum car parking standard, whichever is the larger. The adoption of parking standards is likely to feature in any revisions to the Unitary Development Plan.
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