SF Department of the Environment details outreach for tenant bicycle parking ordinance

Kruti Singha, senior clean transportation coordinator for the San Francisco Department of the Environment, presented the department's outreach activities for the tenant bicycle parking and existing commercial buildings ordinance.

Singha summarized the ordinance passed in March 2012: it requires owners and managers of existing commercial properties to allow tenants to bring bicycles into leased spaces or to designated bicycle parking areas, or to submit a bicycle access plan describing routes, access points (stairs/elevators) and tenant communication. Commercial property owners may seek an exception in two narrow cases: (1) the building elevator is unavailable for bicycle access due to safety risks, or (2) covered, no-cost bicycle parking exists within 750 feet. Exception and access-plan forms are available on the department's website (sfenvironment.org/bikeaccess).

The department described outreach since the January 31 compliance deadline: presentations to building-owner and manager groups (including BOMA), newsletter distribution to roughly 4,500 subscribers, Twitter and Facebook posts (tracked link clicks: 65, majority from Twitter), partner re-posts, and an embedded tenant complaint form and FAQs on a vanity link to facilitate responses. Singha said outreach will continue after the deadline with partner associations and targeted business outreach. Commissioners asked how tenants report noncompliant buildings (anonymous complaint form) and about social-media promotion; staff said they track link clicks and have experimented with paid boosts for other campaigns but have not paid to promote these posts.