Since last fall, the City Council has been developing legislation that would require office buildings to let tenants bring their bikes into work. This morning, June 15, the Council's transportation and consumer affairs committees jointly held a hearing on what has come to be known as the Bicycle Access Bill, and on a corresponding piece of legislation that would create tens of thousands of parking spaces for bikes in some city lots and garages.

Since the idea behind the bill is to encourage more people to bike to work, it's no surprise that Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Kahn, a fervent--and, some might say, autocratic--bike advocate, worked with Council members on drafting the bill, and showed up to testify about it this morning.

"Given the costs associated with traffic congestion, both economic and environmental, and the fact that transit fares and costs are on the rise, cycling is needed now more than ever," Ms. Sadik-Kahn said. Bike ridership in New York saw a 45 percent increase between 2006 and 2008, she said, citing a 2007 D.O.T. study that found more than half of the city's non-cycling commuters don't ride their bikes to work due to a lack of secure bike parking.

"The benefits are crucial to a more sustainable and vibrant city," Ms. Sadik-Khan said.

(This is the most recent draft of the bill, which was first introduced back in 2003; a hearing on an earlier draft was held in December, and the revised version, taking into account input from Council members, transit advocates and the real estate industry, came out earlier this month.)

The whole concept of the bill falls in line with the Bloomberg administration's continuing push for sustainability, particularly in the area of transit infrastructure.

After Ms. Sadik-Khan's testimony, Council Transportation Committee Chair John Liu and Councilman Dan Garodnick pressed Ms. Sadik-Kahn on a component of the legislation--which only applies to office buildings with a freight elevator--that stipulates building owners could obtain an exemption if they fill out a certified D.O.T. form stating that their freight elevators were "not available for the use described in this article."

Ms. Sadik-Kahn said that D.O.T. oversight, with guidance from the Department of Buildings, would curtail gratuitous exemption claims. But both Mr. Liu and Mr. Garodnick said the bill needed specific language enabling the D.O.T. to rule on the legitimacy of said claims, and it was agreed by all three that more "tweaking" of the legislation was necessary.

There were a few tense moments when Mr. Liu took some shots at the D.O.T., calling it short-staffed and under-budgeted and questioning its role in "ascertaining what happens inside a building." He also said there's been "inconsistency with the way the D.O.T. has handled cycling and pedestrian safety issues." This suggestion prompted a harsh glare from Ms. Sadik-Kahn.

"I completely disagree," she said, arguing that pedestrian safety is at an all-time high and that the Bloomberg administration has made "unprecedented" investments in transportation infrastructure.

"We are doing everything we can to improve the condition of our infrastructure, quality of life, and the safety of our citizens," she said.

After Ms. Sadik-Kahn left the hearing there was testimony from parking and real estate advocates.

A portfolio manager for real estate giant Newmark Knight Frank said the bike access bill "does not take into account a number of management realities and that every building in New York has unique tenant and security needs." His concerns included whether bikes could be prohibited from entering highly trafficked pedestrian lobbies and where bikes would be allowed to enter buildings. "Building owners and managers should be able to voluntarily provide bike access to their buildings," he said.

Vincent Petraro of the Metropolitan Parking Association spoke about the corresponding bill, which states, "The operator of every garage and parking lot that has an authorized capacity of fifty-one or more motor vehicle spots shall provide and maintain parking spaces for bicycles."

"Many older parking facilities do not lend themselves to safely parking bicycles due to the design of the ramps," he said. "We think this legislation has to be tweaked a bit."

When we left, an attorney from Transportation Alternatives was testifying in support of both bills. We'll post any updates if they come in.

No timeline for completing the bills was given, but Councilman David Yassky said he hopes they could "get passed quickly" before the Council adjourns for summer break.