The city's Department of City Planning is seeking zoning changes that would mandate the creation of many new bicycle parking spaces within both residential and commercial buildings.

Such spaces have in recent years been marketed as a luxury amenity in many new residential condominiums.

Amanda M. Burden, the chair of the City Planning Commission, announced yesterday that the new initiative for new multi-family residential, commercial and institutional buildings throughout the city. A new zoning text will enter the public review process next week.

Her announcement noted that "recent studies by City Planning have found that the lack of safe and secure bicycle parking is a leading factor preventing people from cycling to work," adding that "the lack of bicycle storage facilities in residential buildings can make bicycle ownership impractical."

The announcement said the proposal, "the most comprehensive bike parking zoning requirement of any dense US city," will "cultivate a more green and healthy urban environment."

"Our zoning for bike parking, coupled with Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan's efforts to increase bike lanes and outdoor bike parking and her collaboration with owners of existing buildings to provide space for bikes, will contribute to a better quality of life and a healthier New York," Ms. Burden maintained.

"To ensure the new requirements do not encumber new developments, required bicycle parking would not count against the permitted floor area," according to Ms. Burden.

The new rules require that residential buildings with more than 10 units must provide secure bike parking for 50 percent of the units and that retail and most other commercial uses as well as most community facility uses would need to provide one space for every 10,000 square feet of floor area.

Public parking garages would be required to provide one bike parking space for every 10 automobile parking spaces and 15 square feet would be required per bicycle parking space.