Produced by
In conjunction with
Jamie Cheney, Executive Director
Jessica Szelag, Program Manager
Zachary Howard, Bicycle Program Coordinator
Peter Hahn, Director
Tracy Krawczyk, Policy & Planning Division Director
Ann Sutphin, Project Manager
Published: May 2011
Acknowledgement: This project is funded in whole or in part by funds made available through the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA). This funding was awarded by the US Department of Energy through the Energy Policy Division of the
Washington State Department of Commerce under Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant No.DE-EE0000849.
Disclaimer: This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither
the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or
assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or
process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial
product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its
endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of
authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.
Commute Seattle Center City Bicycle Amenity Inventory – Strategic Plan
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Commute Seattle Bicycle Program
Strategic Plan
The Commute Seattle Bicycle Program has a goal of 6,000 daily Center City bicycle commuters by 2015.
The Strategic Plan represents the programmatic strategy for achieving this goal, which consists of three
distinct phases: 1) to assess existing conditions of bicycle amenities in commercial buildings, 2) to work
with property managers to increase the prevalence and quality of amenities, and 3) to market a bicycle
commuter program to Commute Seattle’s client base. This plan was developed at the close of the first
phase of the program.
Phase I.
Phase II.
Phase III.
Assess supply
Improve supply
Create demand
Phase I. Assess existing bicycle amenities in commercial buildings
The first phase of the bicycle program was to assess existing conditions and determine how well the
Center City would accommodate additional bicycle commuters. Commute Seattle conducted an
exhaustive inventory of bike amenities in commercial buildings in the fall of 2010. Bicycle parking was
assessed for capacity (the number of bicycles each rack could hold) as well as for commuter
appropriateness using three criteria (security, weather protection, and quality).
The findings of the bicycle inventory indicate that the existing conditions cannot support a significant
increase in bicycle commuters. The following are the major gaps identified:
•
•
•
many buildings have no bicycle amenities,
there is room for improvement in those amenities that do exist, and
there is no accurate means for assessing tenant demand for bicycle amenities.
Commute Seattle identified the key barriers and issues that property managers face when considering the
provision of bicycle amenities. These are:
1. Lack of incentives.
Property managers lack market-based incentives to improve or add bicycle amenities. This results in the
lack of bike facilities in all but a small minority of commercial buildings.
2. Distribution imbalance in older buildings.
Older buildings lack any regulatory obligation to bring their amenities up to current standards, as they
were built before the most recent updates to the city’s municipal code for new construction. Current
standards will increase supply in new and redeveloped buildings, but do not directly affect whether this
supply will be commuter-appropriate.
Commute Seattle Center City Bicycle Amenity Inventory – Strategic Plan
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3. Lack of market-specific best practices.
Property managers lack information on bike amenities that speaks to commuter preferences. Additionally,
property managers are constrained by limited space and consideration of fire and safety codes.
4. Unclear costs and benefits.
Property managers struggle with the trade-offs between providing tenant amenities to secure competitive
advantage while managing opportunity costs from using otherwise rentable space for a use that does not
produce income.
5. Unclear demand for amenities.
Property managers lack a clear process for assessing their tenants’ demand for bicycle amenities. While
regulatory guidelines suggest a baseline of bicycle parking capacity, each building’s unique mix of tenants
calls for a more fine-tuned mechanism for assessing what level of amenities to supply.
6. Lack of policy resources.
Property managers balance their desire to provide an amenity to their tenants with keeping common
areas clean and safe. Commuters may struggle with the lack of explicit policies on bike storage or from a
lack of information on where bicycle parking is located and how it can be accessed.
Phase II. Increase availability and quality of private bicycle infrastructure for commuters
The second phase of the strategic plan will develop programmatic activities, which will encourage
property managers to audit their building for demand and then introduce or improve bicycle amenities
accordingly. This phase will last approximately 3 years, with the first year spent developing and bringing
programs to the marketplace, and the second two years seeking out new clients within Center City. This
phase will start as approximately 75% of the bicycle program’s efforts, but will decrease in importance as
the focus of the bicycle program shifts to marketing and encouragement strategies (Phase III).
Table 1 below indicates the gaps identified in the inventory, the potential market among buildings and
property managers in Center City, and activities Commute Seattle will strategically encourage in order to
address the gaps.
Table 1. Gaps exist within different property markets, and will be addressed through strategic activities.
Identified Gap
Potential Market
Recommended Activity
No accurate method for
assessing tenant demand for
amenities
All buildings
Audit buildings for current level of
demand
The majority of commercial
buildings have no amenities
Buildings with no bicycle
amenities
Introduce bicycle amenities
Where amenities exist, there
is room for qualitative
improvement
Buildings with existing bicycle
amenities
Improve bicycle amenities
To provide market value to the proposed property management activities, Commute Seattle’s bike
program strategies must address the barriers and issues identified in the inventory phase.
Commute Seattle Center City Bicycle Amenity Inventory – Strategic Plan
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1. Lack of incentives.
Property managers must satisfy their bottom line when investing in bicycle amenities. Valuable, marketbased incentives can positively influence a property manager’s decision to introduce or improve bicycle
amenities. Market based incentives can include discounted parking hardware, cash rebates and credit
toward LEED points. Regulatory based incentives could include credit toward Transportation
Management Program requirements, and other regulatory credits for businesses. Other incentives could
include tax benefits or reduced development fees. Commute Seattle is in a unique strategic position for
developing incentives given its partnerships with City and County governments.
2. Distribution imbalance in older buildings.
The 2006 updates to the Seattle Municipal Code will lead to a greater supply of bicycle parking in new
and redeveloped buildings, but older buildings are not obligated to adhere to the newer standards.
Instead of new regulatory mechanisms, older buildings would benefit more from understanding their
tenants’ interest and demand for bicycle amenities, the benefits and costs of providing amenities, and
best practices for furnishing a robust bicycle program.
Strategies for addressing qualitative issues in newer buildings will focus on the lack of market-specific
best practices, described below.
3. Lack of market-specific best practices.
Property managers lack information on bike facilities that speaks to commuter preferences for rack types,
environmental conditions, and additional amenities such as showers, repair stands, and day-use lockers.
Resources such as schematic diagrams may assist in installation, but do not address how commuters in a
workplace environment will use these amenities once they are installed. Commute Seattle can provide a
set of best practices, including technical information, preferred vendors and rack types, and
recommendations for commuter-optimal location and installation of amenities. These specifications can
be tailored to a building’s unique space, budget, and safety considerations.
In new or redeveloping buildings, a set of best practices will promote high-quality bicycle amenities during
the decision-making process, resulting in a higher share of commuter-optimal amenities. Various city
departments, including Transportation and Planning & Development, produce Client Assistance Memos
which provide developers with resources and best practices for code compliance and other regulatory
procedures related to real estate development. Commute Seattle will work with the city to develop codespecific best practices for bicycle amenities, which may be presented as an additional Client Assistance
Memo, or as a Commute Seattle branded resource to be distributed to property managers.
4. Unclear costs and benefits.
The benefits that property managers enjoy from bicycle parking – such as tenant attraction and retention,
credits for TMP and LEED certification, and a reduction in tenant use of scarce vehicle parking space are often indirect and difficult to quantify. The costs of these investments – including hardware,
installation, and loss of revenue from converted vehicle parking – are easier to quantify, and may win out
in the calculus of providing amenities.
Commute Seattle should work with property owners to develop formulas that better quantify the benefits
of providing amenities. This information can be incorporated into a calculator-style resource, which
estimates the overall benefits and costs of providing amenities, including any incentives developed as
part of Commute Seattle’s bicycle program. Furthermore, the calculator should be used to develop
marginal improvement budget scenarios, which will help property managers prioritize from a list of
suggested improvements to their amenities.
Commute Seattle Center City Bicycle Amenity Inventory – Strategic Plan
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5. Unclear demand for amenities.
The demand for bicycle amenities comes from a diffuse subset of tenants who may not have the
combined influence to feature into a property manager’s investments. While property managers often
survey their tenants regarding issues or suggestions for improvements, it is unclear how this information
is used, and whether tenants think to bring up bicycle amenities in more general surveys.
Commute Seattle currently provides in-depth consultations and audits of buildings’ commuter-related
amenities. These types of services can be adapted to better assess tenant demand for and satisfaction
with bicycle amenities.
6. Lack of policy resources.
Property managers wish to provide and market amenities to their tenants, but often have concerns about
safety, cleanliness, and maintenance issues that arise from allowing bicycles in various interior spaces.
Bicycle amenities, especially secure parking, may not be overtly marketed to tenants due to a perceived
lack of demand, or a lack of communication on policy and usage.
Commute Seattle can work with property managers to distribute information and market amenities to their
tenants through commuter workshops, transportation fairs, office drop-ins, and other outreach strategies.
Commute Seattle will develop strategic elements of its bicycle program to mitigate these six barriers.
Table 2 below links each barrier to specific operational strategies and tools as a means for encouraging
demand assessment auditing, as well as amenity improvements and introductions.
Table 2. Each barrier will be mitigated through strategic elements of Commute Seattle's bicycle program.
Barrier
Related activities
Lack of incentives
Introduce, improve
Uneven regulations
Introduce, improve
Lack of market-specific best
practices
Introduce, improve
Unclear costs and benefits
Introduce, improve
Unclear demand
Audit, introduce
Lack of policy resources
Audit, introduce, improve
Commute Seattle Center City Bicycle Amenity Inventory – Strategic Plan
Strategy
Work with government agencies
to develop market incentives
Demand assessments,
developing best practices, costbenefit calculator
Developing preferred vendors
and hardware resource,
installation guides, and on-site
consultation programs
Cost-benefit calculator, marginal
improvement budget scenarios
Demand assessments,
transportation audits
Transportation fairs, commuter
workshops, marketing and
outreach
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Phase III. Marketing to Commute Seattle audiences
The third phase of the bicycle program involves marketing the successes of the second phase and
encouraging property managers, commuters and employers to work together to continue to improve
amenities and foster a bicycle commuter culture in Center City. This phase will run concurrently with the
second phase over three years, beginning as approximately 25% of the bicycle program’s efforts, and
becoming more important as the bicycle program saturates the market.
Property managers
The bicycle program’s primary market is property owners and managers, who have the most direct
influence in the types and quality of amenities provided in commercial buildings. The strategies detailed in
Phase II of the program have already received attention from property management firms, some of which
have requested these services from Commute Seattle. Successful improvement or introduction of
amenities at the buildings of these clients will produce two marketing resources for the bicycle program:
1. Brand building – Commute Seattle will earn a reputation for providing bicycle amenity services
and consultation in Center City buildings.
2. Fostering competition in peer buildings – Property managers are constantly competing with their
peers for market advantage. Phase II client properties will be able to market their improved
bicycle amenities to prospective tenants, increasing their competitive edge. Property
management firms at peer buildings will be interested in evening out this advantage by improving
their own bicycle amenities.
Commute Seattle will use its unique relationships with property managers and the upturn in competition to
further promote the bicycle program to property managers with no amenities, or where amenities are not
commuter-appropriate.
Commuters
As noted in Phase II, bicycle commuters within a given building are a diffuse group that may have
difficulty influencing the presence or quality of bicycle amenities. Commute Seattle’s existing marketing
products include bicycle commuter workshops and building transportation fairs. These products should be
adapted to include resources for tenant advocacy, which will assist bicycle commuters in lobbying for
more or better-quality amenities. Additionally, Commute Seattle has developed an on-line map tool, which
can be used to showcase the amenities observed during Phase I of the inventory. Commuters can use
this tool to learn about amenities in their building, develop a preferred commute route, and learn more
about contacting their property manager regarding access and improvement to bicycle amenities.
Employers
Employers can also benefit from Commute Seattle marketing programs, which can help them promote
bicycling amenities to their workers, develop incentives for bicycle commuters, and find appropriate levels
of amenities when relocating to the Center City. Commute Seattle’s transportation fairs, seminars, and
workshops can be further adapted to address employer audiences. Additionally, Commute Seattle can
work with the Downtown Seattle Association, which encourages employers to locate in Center City, to
help firms advocate for bicycle amenities as part of their leasing agreement, or identify buildings with
sufficient amenities.
Commute Seattle Center City Bicycle Amenity Inventory – Strategic Plan
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