On-street Bicycle Parking now in this Little ol’ City
NOTE: This bicycle rack is now located across the street in front of Cali’s Cottons Boutique.(updated:9/14)
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Notice anything different on Front Street over the weekend?
(Click to enlarge)
An on-street bicycle parking experiment is underway on Front Street for the next month, or two. Located in front of Red Ginger and the State Theatre, a space dedicated to cars now has room for 12 (+/-) bicycles. The project is a result of effort by TART Trails, through McClain’s Cycle and Fitness and a grant from Specialized.
It’s unfortunate that the parking wasn’t installed earlier in the summer as intended, however, there’s no time like today to get something accomplished.
There is plenty of riding, and parking, ahead of us before the snowplows force the rack off the street, so please use it and show city staff, and area businesses, that these racks fulfill a need.
In addition, send the city manager, DDA, and city planner feedback on the concept , value and suggestions/support for more locations in 2011 (emails below).
Why Bother with On-Street Bicycle Parking?
A need for more bicycle parking in Traverse City.
MyWHaT is a strong supporter of on-street bicycle parking. It accomplishes the direct result of providing convenient parking to area businesses & public spaces, but it also accomplishes several other goals for a community focused on increasing active transportation & has concerns about public space.
My brainstorm of benefits:
- Fulfills a latent demand for bicycle parking.
- Improves the walking & wheelchair experience for sidewalk traffic.
- Provides space for up to 12 visitors, instead of the typical 1.2 average per car.
- Increased visibility for and of bicycles. After all, bikes belong.
- Increase visibility of store fronts, as the bikes don’t block the view of street-level entrances.
- Saves the city money locating & building infrastructure singly for bicycle parking.
- Saves the city money on maintenance of light poles & trees damaged by free-range bicycle parking.
- Traffic calming: on-street parking adds a human scale to the street. Motorists slow down when people are present.
- Combined with street beautification, can help create a sense of place across the entire public right-of-way.
Do you have any other benefits to add?
Where do you see some other opportunities for on-street bike parking?
(Map of Suggested Locations)
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The Installation
No fan-fare, just two engineers getting a job done.
SUPPORT ON-STREET BIKE PARKING: Send your comments regarding on-street bike parking to: City manager, Ben Bifoss, city planner, Russ Soyring, Executive director of DDA, Bryan Crough
bbifoss@traversecitymi.gov,rsoyring@ci.traverse-city.mi.us,bcrough@ci.traverse-city.mi.us
Related Articles
- Bike corral installed at Jolly Roger Taproom (myballard.com)
- New York Trades Parking For Pedestrian Space (BrokenSidewalk.coom)
- More home shoppers include bike access on their list (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
- Nick Marsh: Cycling carrots in Copenhagen (nudges.org)
Just received an email with some unfortunate news. (Followed by another with this image)
“…I went for a run yesterday morning to check it out. Unfortunately, a service truck was parked in the space and the bike rack was moved to the sidewalk. There were no bikes attached to it and it didn’t appear to be damaged. It is very disappointing. At this point in the season, I’m not sure it makes sense to bolt it to the ground, but for next summer- it probably should be considered.”
I haven’t been downtown lately. Did anyone see this happen? Was it city workers? State Theatre workers? We will see how it unfolds…
On street bike parking is a visible reminder that bikes belon in the street. It helps to keep cyclists off the sidewalk where they can be a hazard for pedestrians, and serves as a visual and officially sanctioned reminder to motorists that they belong in the street.
It’s like win win win win win win… Or something?
Today, the rack is still on the sidewalk. A truck is indeed in the spot. Isn’t that what the loading zone is for? And I thought TART had a permit for that space.
I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation, but I guess that’s the point. Why wouldn’t it seem MORE reasonable to put the truck in a car’s parking space instead of the one bike rack on the street?
More lessons to learn.