Free Bike Parking for Inauguration

I have a Hungarian friend, Charlie, who works at a catering agency in Washington, D.C., and he is NOT looking forward to next week. The U.S. capital expects a record crowd for the inauguration of Barack Obama -- an estimated 3 million visitors to a city whose permanent population is less than 600,000. Not that Washington, D.C. is a stanger to big crowds, but this will be something else altogether.

Charlie stands to make some good money waiting tables or tending bar at one of the scores of inaugural parties and balls on the docket. Despite this, he's dreading the event and the days leading up to it because the crowds on the streets will be practically impenetrable. I guess we can imagine something like St. Stephens Day and the Sziget Festival all rolled into one and crammed into a city somewhat larger than Győr.

One of the major problems is the shortage of parking. With America having crappy train service and air travel being expensive and hassle-ridden, most visitors will come by car. City authorities have enlarged the no-parking zone around downtown to make way for people, and also for the thousands of charter buses that need someplace to unload. You can imagine that thousands of motorists will idle hours on end in traffic jams trying to find a parking spot within walking distance of downtown.

There's a remedy to this situation, and you probably won't be surprised what it is: bicycling. Some quick thinkers at the Washington Area Bicycle Association put together a one-off bicycle valet service (not unlike what they've had at the Sziget Festival in recent years), with two stations in the downtown area. People who bike into the city can leave their bikes free-of-charge in a secure, guarded parking station -- and pick up a commemorative inauguration spoke card if they get there in time.

It seems there's not much that can't be readily solved with bicycles.

Bicycle parking: It's the law

Starting this month, according to new national building requirements, the provision of bicycle parking is the law. The new requirements, as spelled out in the Magyar Közlöny (Hungarian Bulletin -- see the PDF) require specific amounts of parking for 15 categories of buildings, from residential flats to restaurants to cinemas to factories.

Here's a summary, translated to the best of my (questionable) abilities:

• Flats, stand-alone houses: 1 space
  
• Stores, markets (under 1,000 sq m): 2/150 sq m floor space*
  
• Stores, markets (above 1,000 sq m): 2/500 sq m floor space*
  
• Hotels: 2/15 rooms
  
• Restaurants: 2/75 sq m dining space*
  
• Universities, high schools and other educational facilities: 2/ 50 sq m space*
  
• Cinemas, theaters and other entertainment facilities: 5/50 seats
  
• Museums and other cultural institutions: 5/500 sq m with a maximum of 50*
  
• Sport facilities and strands: 2/20 people
  
• Hospitals: 1/50 beds
  
• Factories: 1/10 workplaces
  
• Storage facilities: 1/10,000 sq m storage
  
• Tram and local bus end stops: plan for 5 percent of riders to use bikes
  
• Train stations and long-distance bus stops: 5

* Means that I was somewhat perplexed about just exactly what the text was getting at

When I first got word of these new requirements (in the recent bicycle supplement of HVG), I was genuinely enthused. How progressive is that?! I thought. I was thinking of a similar law passed in Paris, one of many tools that politicians there used to boost cycling levels by 57% from 1997-2004. Then my wife reminded me that laws in Hungary often have very little impact on people's behaviour. (A prime example, one that ticks her off to no end, are the smoking restrictions introduced at the end of the '90s: they required restaurants and bars to have non-smoking space, but a decade later, a typical non-smoking section in Hungary still consists of the lone table not furnished with an ashtray.)

So, yes, bike-parking requirements aren't the silver bullet that will make Budapest Amsterdam. Still, though, I think it's something to keep in mind next time you go to a store or a bar or wherever, and can't find a decent place to lock up your bike. You can remind the manager that some customers come on two wheels. Bike parking isn't just good business, by the way, it's the law.

Sziget festival angers, charms cyclist

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Oh brother. I realize that I've been duped by the Sziget Festival's slick communications. In my previous post, I praised the organisers for having a free-of-charge, attended parking facility for bicycles. Somehow, this little gesture distracted me from the bigger picture, which is that the Sziget's ticket booths at the main entrance completely block the main north-south bike path on the Buda side.

I don't know why I forgot to mention this -- I commute everyday between Budapest and Szentendre, and during the week of Sziget it becomes virtually impossible to get past the Filitorigat HÉV stop due to the logjam of humanity coming on and off the island. No exageration -- the line of people between the HÉV stop and the festival entrance fully occupies about 200 metres of the path, and the few times I tried to get through it with my bike, it took an eternity (well maybe 15-20 minutes -- but that's a hell of a long time to bike 200 metres).

Anyway, I hate being a crank -- especially as I know the Sziget Festival has been barraged by cranks from the day it started back in the early 1990s. Still, this is a serious inconvenience for those of us who commute on this path on a daily basis and I felt I should at least raise the issue just to make sure organisers know it IS an issue.

So I sent a non-cranky note of complaint, and two days later I got this thoughtful, non-cranky reply.

Dear Greg,

Thank you for contacting us.

I see what you are talking about. The problem is, that there is no other place where we could put the ticket offices (we can not build them on the highway, can we?). Unfortunatelly the bicycle road is by the bridge where our visitors comes in. So even, if our tents would not be there it would be a big problem to cross the junction with the bike, as people are crossing it non stop.

However, the bikers still can use the road in this junction. And than return to the bicycle route. (The police has closed the Jégtörő street for cars but not for bikers.)

There are 3,5 days left.... So please have patient. It will be over soon.

Thank you for your understanding.
Best wishes,
INFO

This note is really nice. My only quibble would be its unconscious, car-centric prejudice: "We can not build them on the highway, can we?" If it were up to me, that's EXACTLY where I'd build them. Afterall, the only thing the highway is used for is cars -- and I think I speak for about 9 people when I say -- who gives a damn about cars?

But other than that, this was an exceptionally conscientious reply and I'm inclined to drop the issue right here. For the week of the festival, I'm taking a detour out onto the highway, Route 11, which is very busy (read "choked with motor traffic") but I already ride on it for part of my commute so it's not a big deal.

Incidentally, the option that INFO suggested in his/her reply is a good one. Jégtörő út is the name of the quay road next to Filitorigat. With it being closed to motor traffic, it makes a convenient and scenic way to cycle between the festival and downtown Budapest.

Anyway, looks like with a little understanding, biking and rocking can still go hand in hand.

Cycling to the Sziget Festival

As in years past, you can bike out to the Sziget festival (August 13-18 at Hajogyari Island) and leave your bike in a free-of-charge, attended parking facility. In addition to secure parking, you can also get minor repairs and maintenance done. Check out the blurb on the English-language page at
http://www.sziget.hu/festival_english/travel

For those who've never biked out there, the Buda entrance at the Filatorigat HÉV stop is along a designated bike route. Get on the Budai rakpart path and follow the signs. After you pass the Aquincum Hotel, the path diverges from the HÉV tracks at Arpad hid and goes on cobblestones through Fô tér at Óbuda and the housing estate immediately to the north. After that, you're directed back toward the HÉV tracks and you'll soon see the massing crowds of Sziget revelers.

Sorry to say, I have no idea if there's an easy way to penetrate the crowd or whether you just have to line up with everyone else and find the bike park after you gain admittance. Presumably, you can get these directions when you finally get the head of the line. Best of luck!