Covered Parking Bicycle parking for residential, school and industrial uses should be covered. Where motor vehicle parking is covered, bicycle parking should also be covered. Pacific Northwest winters have mild temperatures and periods of intermittent rain. For customers, visitors and other occasional users, covered parking is also beneficial. Covered spaces can be building or roof overhangs, awnings, lockers or bicycle storage spaces within buildings.
Covered parking needs to be visible for security, unless supplied as storage within a building.
The effectiveness of bicycle parking is often determined by location. To reduce theft, a highly visible location with much pedestrian traffic is preferable to obscure and dark corners. Because of its smaller size, the bicycle can be parked closer to the rider's destination than a car. Racks near entrances should be located so that there are no conflicts with pedestrians. Curb cuts at the rack location discourage users from riding the sidewalk to access the racks.