Choosing to bicycle to shops or work tends to be based on a number of lifestyle factors, including health-related benefits, savings on car and parking expenses, and convenience.

Having a network of routes can make biking a safe and comfortable form of travel.  Bicycle storage facilities also play an essential role and therefore their design and location are important considerations.

The following sets out some general principles on providing infrastructure and incentives for bicycling:

A Comprehensive Plan

Create a bike and pedestrian master plan that is reviewed and updated at regular intervals. The City of Seattle recently adopted one that will extend the existing 68 miles of bicycle infrastructure to 458 miles in fewer than five years.

A Safe, Convenient Network of Routes

Different kinds of riders appreciate different types of routes. 

• For recreational riders: Try to create routes through parks and other open spaces, and connect these with the local street network. 

• For commuters: Mark bike routes on arterial roads, or better still, develop parallel routes on local streets.

• Lane sharing: Plan for bikes and cars to share lanes on local streets and minor collector streets (under 10,000 vehicles per day).

• Safe routes: To improve safety on local streets designated as cycling routes, consider traffic circles, three- and four-way stop controls, and possibly traffic restrictions.  Install cycle-friendly controlled crossings on busy arterials.

Bicycle Parking and Facilities

• Parking standards: Adopt minimum bicycle parking standards and design criteria that are tailored to the needs of particular land uses – a good example is Portland’s bicycle parking guidelines.

• Protected storage: Locate bicycle storage in secure and weather-protected areas.

• Visitor parking: Locate visitor parking in visible locations and concentrate it at activity points.
   
• Workplace: Consider lockers and showers for employees.

Incentives and Programs to Encourage and Facilitate Cycling

• Sharing: Investigate a bicycle share scheme.

• Rental and repair: Consider a non-profit bicycle rental and repair facility.

• Training: Organize bicycle training programs.

• Incentives: Provide incentives to encourage bicycling, such as parking cash outs (cash in lieu of parking a car) and bicycle loans.

• Partnerships: Partner with local bicycling advocates and schools on educational initiatives.

• Cycling events: Take advantage of national initiatives, such as Bike-to-Work weeks.

• Bike maps: Develop a bicycle map that shows commuter and, recreational routes and marks low- traffic streets.

Integration with Transit

Work with the local transit operator to have adequate bicycle storage on transit vehicles and at transit station so cyclists can combine modes on longer trips.