Shelter for smokers, not bikes?

Bike parking is a critical amenity for bicycling commuters. Ain't gonna leave your Lightspeed out in the rain, right? Secure, staffed, indoor bike parking is ideal, and for a few fortunate bicyclists is provided by an office closet, an enlighted or tolerant employer, or a nearby Bikestation. Video-monitored streetside bike racks aren't quite as good as indoor parking. And too rarely, bike racks are located under some form of shelter, such as this modest structure near the Amtrak Station in Davis, California.

From the frequently-rainy Pacific Northwest, comes this account:

When will people on bikes be treated as well as smokers?

I am pissed. I just learned that my county would rather provide shelter from the weather for its employees who smoke (and drive up healthcare costs) than let those citizen-terrorists on bikes park out of the rain near the county building.

So I have to go to the county building today after a lunch meeting. Rather than drive, I hop on my bike and dodge traffic and the shards of cars swept into the so-called "bike lanes." I get to the county building and it's starting to rain.

I look up, and the massive front of the building has an extended cover running across the front of the building. In the center is an entrance. To the right are hardworking county employees (they wear badges) enjoying their hard-earned cigarette breaks, as well as what looks to be like regular citizen smokers (no badges).

I am over by the single bike rack, away from the building, in the rain. (Read more.)

Image: Paul Dorn.
Visit: Paul Dorn's Bike Commuting Tips
Thanks to Portland-based Sasquatch hunter Bob Debarge for tipping this Grist article.