Wednesday Laurie Chipman and myself testified at the City Council’s Planning and Zoning Commission, following a very extensive criticism of bike parking by several development lawyers. In particular, opposition seemed to come most from developers building townhouses and apartments in the Northland. Hunt Midwest sent two people to testify. The Plaza law firm of White Goss Bowers March Shulte & Weisenfels sent several lawyers. This law firm represents clients like the Heartland Apartment Association, the Home Builders Association, Briarcliff, Zona Rosa, Hunt Midwest, and several other companies that develop and build apartments and strip malls.
The upshot was that the councilmembers were very supportive of bike parking as a way to encourage more transportation by bicycle, and city staff was directed to set up a meeting between us and the development lawyers. Hopefully we will be able to address some of their fears and find some common ground to move forward on. Special kudos to Councilmembers Beth Gottstein, Cindy Circo, and John Sharp. All three have spent time meeting with bicycle advocates and talking about this issue.
And thanks to everyone who wrote a letter or sat in the audience at City Hall. Those things really do make a difference and get noticed.
