Schools

SMC Adds 400 Spaces With New Bike Parking Lot

With new, $600,000 lot, number of bike parking spaces campus-wide now totals 710.

A new parking lot for bikes and skateboards at Santa Monica College opened Monday, the first day of the spring semester, adding 400 spaces for the growing number of students and employees who bicycle to campus, college officials announced.

The new, $600,000 lot is on Pearl Street. It brings the number of bike parking spaces campus-wide to 710, the officials said.

The racks are the inverted "U" type, so both wheels and the bike's frame can be secured. Under construction for six months, the lot boasts pump stations and video surveillance.

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Another "major" bike parking lot is planned for the north side of the main campus to connect to the future Expo light rail train station being built at 17th Street and Colorado Avenue, according to the spring 2013 class schedule

"With 32,626 students enrolled last semester, Santa Monica college needs as much parking as it can fit on campus," la.streetsblog.org's Juan Matute wrote Monday. "I think those students who value locking their bikes to two points of contact will relish the new racks."

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The blogger estimated the space, on three-quarters of an acre between 17th 20th streets, could have otherwise accommodated 15 cars.

The college's first bike lot opened several years ago.

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