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Santa Fe committee presses for bike racks near Plaza, cites funding and approval hurdles
Summary
Members and public speakers urged the Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee to press the city to fund and install more downtown bike parking; discussion focused on historic-review approvals, funding responsibility and next steps.
Public comments and committee members urged the Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee on July 10 to push the city to install additional bicycle racks around the Plaza after several residents and business owners said parking for bikes is inconsistent and limited.
Speakers at the meeting described a lack of visible, attractive racks on or immediately around the Plaza and asked the committee to recommend that the city identify funding and approved designs. Committee members, staff and members of Bike Santa Fe said historic-review approval, cost and maintenance have limited installations so far.
The matter drew attention when public commenter Philip Crump told the committee he had “rode my bike to the plaza … and began to look for a bike rack,” then described limited options and recommended racks rather than trees or signposts. Another speaker, Hubert Foneka, said a rack near the museum parking lot is popular and that a Plaza rack would be “more a psychological thing to show that, yeah, bikes, they’re here.” Bike Santa Fe board member Aria (last name not provided) urged better resources and links explaining how businesses can request or install racks.
Leah (MPO staff), who presented on related work later in the meeting, told the committee that bike racks on public property must usually clear the Historic Review Board and that the city’s “Santa Fe custom” racks have been through that process. She said the largest barrier has been funding: “We have met with parking staff before to say, hey. You guys do parking. What about bike parking? And they were amenable, but never were able to get it into their budget.”
Committee members discussed several near-term options: identify existing recommended locations from a 2014 audit, pursue a bike corral in oversized downtown curb space, or seek small budget allocations for individual racks. Leah provided a ballpark unit price of about $700–800 per rack for purchasing the Santa Fe-style racks; installation costs depend on method and location. The committee agreed to return the item to the August agenda and suggested staff locate the 2014 audit and cost estimates to inform next steps.
No formal motion to require installation was adopted at the July 10 meeting. Chair Michael Garcia and multiple committee members encouraged follow-up work by staff and suggested exploring funding sources—including councilor discretionary allocations and the MPO strategic plan’s action items—before the committee proposes a formal recommendation to the Historic Review Board or the city council.
The committee asked staff to locate the 2014 downtown bike-rack audit and to bring options and cost estimates to the August meeting so members can consider specific actions and a possible funding recommendation.
