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DISTRICT DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING
The Director of the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), pursuant to the authority in
section 8 of the Bicycle Commuter and Parking Expansion Act of 2007, effective February 2, 2008 (D.C. Law 17-103; D.C. Official Code § 50-1641.07) (2012 Supp.) and Mayor’s Order 2011-149, dated September 6, 2011 hereby gives notice of the intent to adopt the following rulemaking to amend Chapter 12 (Bicycles, Motorized Bicycles, and Miscellaneous Vehicles) of Title 18 (Vehicles and Traffic) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR). The Director gives notice of the intent to take final rulemaking action in not less than thirty (30) days after the date of the publication of this notice in the D.C. Register.
The proposed regulations provide the requirements of residential buildings with eight (8) or more units to provide sheltered and secure bicycle parking for the building’s tenants.
Final rulemaking action shall be taken in not less than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register. In addition, this rulemaking proposal will be submitted to the Council of the District of Columbia for approval.
Title 18 (Vehicles and Traffic) of the DCMR is amended as follows:
Chapter 12, “Bicycles, Motorized Bicycles, and Miscellaneous Vehicles,” is amended by adding three new sections 1214, 1215, and 1216 to read as follows:
1214 LONG-TERM BICYCLE PARKING REQUIREMENTS FOR RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
1214.1 All existing residential buildings with eight (8) or more units shall provide secure bicycle parking spaces.
1214.2 Each existing residential building covered by § 1214.1 shall provide a reasonable number of bicycle parking spaces within thirty (30) days after written request from one (1) or more tenants or property owners. A reasonable number shall be defined as at least one (1) bicycle parking space for each three (3) residential units or enough to meet requested demand, whichever is greater.
1214.3 All new residential buildings and substantially rehabilitated buildings with eight (8) or more units shall have at least one (1) secure bicycle parking space for each three (3) residential units.
1214.4 Where it can be demonstrated that providing sufficient bicycle parking spaces required under § 1214.2 or required in a substantially rehabilitated building required under § 1214.3 is not physically practical, that undue economic hardship would result from strict compliance with the regulation, or that the nature of the building use is such that bicycle parking spaces would not be used, the District Department of Transportation Bicycle Program Office may grant, upon written application of the owner of the building, an appropriate exemption or reduced level of compliance. In such cases, the Bicycle Program Office shall issue to the building owner a written certificate documenting the exemption or reduced level of compliance.
1214.5 Any residential buildings that have been exempted from the requirements of this section due to the nature of the use of the building shall provide a minimum number of bicycle parking spaces equal to at least five percent (5%) of the number of people employed in the building or one (1) space, whichever is greater.
1214.6 The following types of buildings are exempt from the requirements of this section, except as required by § 1214.5:
(a) Elderly housing buildings;
(b) Assisted living facilities; and
(c) Nursing homes.
1215 LONG-TERM BICYCLE PARKING IN RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS: SPACE REQUIREMENTS
1215.1 If possible, all required long-term bicycle parking spaces in a residential building shall be located within the building.
1215.2 If long-term bicycle parking spaces must be located outside of the building, the spaces shall be secure and covered.
1215.3 Required long-term bicycle parking spaces shall be located no lower than the first cellar level or the first complete parking level below grade, and no higher than the first above-grade level.
1215.4 Spaces shall be available to employees, residents, and other building occupants.
1215.5 Required long-term bicycle parking shall be provided as racks or lockers.
1215.6 Bicycle racks for required long-term parking shall be provided in a parking garage or a bicycle storage room.
1215.7 Where required long-term bicycle parking is provided in a garage, it shall be clearly marked and separated from adjacent motor vehicle parking spaces by wheel stops or other physical automobile barriers.
1215.8 Where required long-term bicycle parking is provided in a bicycle room, the room shall have either solid walls or floor-to-ceiling fencing. All doors to the room shall be locked.
1215.9 For a bicycle room with solid walls, the entirety of the interior of the bicycle room shall be visible from the entry door. A motion-activated security light enclosed in a tamper-proof housing shall be provided in each bicycle room.
1215.10 Where required long-term bicycle parking is provided in lockers, the lockers shall be securely anchored and meet the following minimum dimensions:
(a) Twenty-four inches (24 in.) in width at the door end;
(b) Eight inches (8 in.) in width at the opposite end;
(c) Seventy-two inches (72 in.) in length; and
(d) Forty-eight inches (48 in.) in height.
1215.11 Each required long-term bicycle parking space shall be directly accessible by means of an aisle of a minimum width of forty-eight inches (48 in.) and have a minimum vertical clearance of seventy-five inches (75 in.). Aisles shall be kept clear of obstructions at all times.
1215.12 A minimum of fifty percent (50%) of the required long-term bicycle parking spaces shall allow the bicycles to be placed horizontally on the floor or ground. Vertical bicycle space racks shall support the bicycle without the bicycle being suspended.
1215.13 Each required long-term bicycle parking space shall be a minimum width of twenty-four inches (24 in.), and shall be:
(a) A minimum of seventy-two inches (72 in.) in length if the bicycles are to be placed horizontally; or
(b) A minimum of forty inches (40 in.) in length if the bicycles are to be placed vertically.
1215.14 Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, an existing building owner may apply to the DDOT Bicycle Program Office for a waiver from some or all of the long-term bicycle parking space requirements if the building owner can demonstrate that providing the bicycle parking spaces would present an undue hardship. If a waiver is granted, DDOT Bicycle Program Office shall issue to the building owner a written certificate documenting the waiver.
1216 LONG-TERM BICYCLE PARKING IN RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS: FINES
1216.1 A violation of section 1214 or 1215 shall be a Class 4 civil infraction pursuant to chapter 32 of title 16 of the DC Municipal Regulations.
1216.2 Adjudication of any infraction of section 1214 or 1215 shall be pursuant to titles I-III of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Civil Infractions Act of 1985.
All persons interested in commenting on the subject matter in this proposed rulemaking may file comments in writing, not later than thirty (30) days after the publication of this notice in the D.C. Register, with Samuel D. Zimbabwe, Associate Director, District Department of Transportation, 55 M Street, S.E., 5th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20003. An interested person may also send comments electronically to policy.ddot@dc.gov . Copies of this proposed rulemaking are available, at cost, by writing to the above address, and are also available electronically, at no cost, on the District Department of Transportation’s website at www.ddot.dc.gov.
