All Over Albany

How to get to the indoor bike parking at the Empire State Plaza

By the way: There is indoor bike parking at the Empire State Plaza -- on the concourse level, even.

The bike racks are just outside the door to the bus turnaround area in the middle of the concourse, right across from the food court.

Maybe you've seen these racks and wondered how one ever get their bike there, because it's not exactly apparent. (Or you're googling this now.)

Well, wonder no longer.

The bike parking area is accessible via the curved driveway ramp that starts on the outdoor plaza between agency buildings 1 and 2.

You can ride down the ramp until meeting the gate. Dismount. Hop onto the grass on the right. Follow the curved wall around -- there will be a sidewalk just around the curve. (An extension of the sidewalk back before the gate would be helpful.) Follow the sidewalk toward the stop sign.

Walk your bike along the sidewalk into the concourse bus turnaround and continue to the doors that lead inside. There's a series of bike racks just to the right of the doors. (The signage is very clear that you're not to ride on the vehicle driveway -- which makes sense, because bus that shuttle people to off-site parking lots rumbled through here.)

Lock up and you're inside the plaza.

Other options

+ If you'd like to park a bike outside, there are a bunch of racks at the foot of the Corning Tower (on the State Museum side). Bonus: You can stop by to see the re-installed François Stahly Labyrinth.

+ Easier to access, but still bit protected from the weather: There's a bike rack outside the State Museum entrance on Madison Ave that's under the overhang.

Speaking of biking to a place a lot of people work...
This year's Bike to Work Day Workplace Challenge is May 18.