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Entries tagged: Bike Racks

After a mandate from members and a decade of dedicated work, Bike Pittsburgh celebrated last week as the local Port Authority announced 100 percent of buses now have bike racks.

The story starts way back in 2002, when BikePGH was just getting its feet wet as an upstart advocacy organization. Already, the Port Authority and City of Pittsburgh had received a $75,000 grant for “Ride, Rack and Roll,” an initiative intended to outfit 75 buses with bike racks. But, a year after the program was established, only eight routes had racks — and often, even on those lines, buses would arrive sans rack. So BikePGH got to work.

“[From 2003 to 2006] stakeholders represented by Sustainable Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh’s Department of City Planning, the Port Authority and BikePGH met on and off to try to figure out the issues regarding the Rack ‘n Roll service,” Erok Boerer, BikePGH Advocacy Director, explained on the group’s blog last week. “It was clear the only answer was to get more racks into the entire system.”

In 2004, the program got an influx of money — $290,150 from the federal Transportation Enhancements program — to grow the program to 12 routes. But still, service was spotty and riders had little confidence that their bus would arrive with a rack. So it wasn’t surprising that BikePGH members considered the bus situation a major frustration. “At a BikePGH strategic planning session, members expressed that outfitting 100 percent of Port Authority buses with bike racks should be a high priority campaign that we should pursue,” Boerer explained.

So, in 2007, when the Port Authority announced it was buying new buses without racks the advocates pressed for a new policy that could solve the problem: No new buses should be purchased without a bike rack. The Port Authority agreed. By 2008, the landscape started to change as old buses were retired and, from the get-go, the new ones hit the streets with racks attached. To make sure the Port Authority had the cash to complete the task, BikePGH worked with local officials to get funding from another federal source — the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program — and from a private foundation. By the end of 2009, they had secured the dollars to outfit the remaining 190 buses and the city promised to get it done by the end of 2011.

Finally, on Friday, the Port Authority and BikePGH had reason to party: All the city buses are now equipped with bike racks.

“This momentous development didn’t happen overnight,” Boerer wrote before the event. “It took a decade, with many different folks working to better the program. When it all came down to it, though, it was all about advocacy and leadership that made it happen.”

Read more on the BikePGH blog.

Bike valet is a valuable, visible and fun way to promote cycling at community events. But there’s one small hitch: How do advocates get all those bicycle racks to the site of the festivities?

Well, Saris Cycling Group teamed up with the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin and came up with a way to fit 200 bikes into the back of a single car.

Dave Schlabowske, the Bike Fed’s new communications director, suggests that bike valet is an important — and growing — asset for bicycle advocates. According to Dave, the top five benefits include:

• “LUXURY – Yes, luxury and bicycling can fit together! People LOVE the valet! For downtown Madison events where bike parking is limited, bicyclists are delighted to use the valet and have told us that it is so convenient and feels like a luxury.”
• “BICYCLE PAMPERING- For those bicyclists who have a shiny new Trek or a Schwinn that they adore… their bike is escorted to a secure parking spot with no worry about being scratched or dinged.”
• “THE HUB- We’ve been surprised to see the spontaneous bicycle community that grows around the bike valet… The valet becomes a gathering place for bicycle conversation and camaraderie. This type of community-building is critical to increasing bicycling and forwarding the mission of the Bike Fed.”
• “OUTREACH- A bike valet provides a targeted marketing opportunity. Not only are we encouraging more bicycling, but it also gives us the opportunity to bring bicyclists to us and begin to engage them in the work we are doing. While we are parking their bike, it gives us a chance to share our latest news and program updates.”
• “WE’RE EVERYWHERE! We try to place the valet in a high-traffic area near the event entrance, not just because it’s most visible and convenient for bicyclists, but also because of the reaction we receive from other event attendees. They are surprised when they see 200 bikes parked in the valet racks. This simple visual can be a powerful marketing tool: “Yes, many people do actually bike and you can, too!”

With so many benefits, the Bike Fed was looking to increase and expand its valet presence. But there was one pressing problem — transporting the bike racks. That is, until Saris stepped in with a solution.

“It was very important that Saris help us develop a bike valet parking system that we could easily provide without outside help and that would not be a strain on our budget,” Schlabowske wrote last month. “With this in mind, Saris designed a special rack that could be easily transported in a standard size car or on a fortified bike trailer. Each rack breaks down into three pieces and is very light weight. We’ve been able to haul 25 event racks that park 200 bikes easily and conveniently in the back of a Prius!”

Already this summer, he Bike Fed has parked more than 1,000 bikes at valet events and plans to serve at least 1,000 more cyclists before the season ends. Last week, the Bike Fed got big exposure when it provided valet at the opening home football game for the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

For more information on the Bike Fed program, contact amanda.white@bfw.org.

Last summer, the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition launched its City of Lights program to assist and empower the area’s many immigrant cyclists. The new initiative quickly led to the creation and distribution of more than 600 Spanish guides that cover the fundamentals of safe cycling.

Bridging the language gap is just the first step, though. The far bigger leap is addressing the lack of bicycling infrastructure in Central LA. But early in the campaign, City of Lights volunteers recognized a serious problem — with a relatively cheap and simple solution.

“Despite the affordability of cycling to work, some day laborers have told us about an unwillingness to bike to the day laborer center because of the threat of bicycle theft,” the City of Lights blog noted back in December. “The fences and poles that laborers use to lock up their bicycles often do not provide adequate visibility or assurance to potential cyclists.”

It wasn’t just the day laborer center that lacked safe parking options, either. When the City of Lights crew conducted a survey in late 2009 they discovered that the Pico-Union and Westlake neighborhoods — two of the city’s most densely inhabited areas with more than 140,000 residents within a five-mile radius — had a mere 53 bike racks. The scoping led to a list of 40 proposed bike parking locations submitted to the LA Department of Transportation, and a new Bike Parking Community Resource Guide for advocates and business owners.

Last week, LACBC celebrated a key victory in its parking campaign. Video cameras rolled and volunteers cheered as LADOT pounded four new bike racks into the pavement outside the CARECEN day labor center.

“This is a really important site, because it was the birthplace of City of Lights,” says Allison Mannos, the LACBC’s urban programs coordinator. “It also sets a precedent for low-income cyclists and working people who don’t own cars that their needs for safer neighborhoods, worksites, and streets are just as important. Having bike parking encourages such long-running ‘accidental environmentalism’ that working class people, such as day laborer cyclists, practice everyday.”

With the City of Lights program gaining steam, city officials promised CARECEN is just the first site of many to come. “LADOT is proud to partner with LACBC, CARECEN, and Councilmember [Ed] Reyes in providing adequate bicycle parking opportunities to some of the Angelinos who are most in need,” said Rita L. Robinson, LADOT General Manager.

Learn more about the exciting work of the City of Lights program here.

Photo: Allison Mannos, LACBC urban programs coordinator, celebrates with CARECEN’s Jose Veliz.

South Lake Tahoe is welcoming 25 new bike racks thanks to a collaboration with the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition.  These are the first bike racks to be installed by the city. According to the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition, “The first one was installed at the city administration offices at the airport.  Additional racks will be installed at city properties where it is determined to be of high use.”  According to John Greenhut, Director, Public Works, “some of the racks will be placed at city facilities and the remainder of the inventory will be donated to the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition for installation where optimum bicycle use is occurring and the greatest need for secure parking is evident.”

For more about the Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition, visit http://www.tahoebike.org/.

After the city of Pittsburgh launched its new bike rack request program, BikePGH is welcoming hundreds of newly installed bike racks on Pittsburgh streets. 

Upon announcing the program in October of 2009, Bike PGH secured funding for 100 racks, which were all donated to the city, and further matched with another 100 racks through the Mayor’s Taking Care of Business Districts program. With 200 racks available, the city has been taking online requests for the new racks’ designated locations throughout Pittsburgh. Most of the 200 racks are now populating the city’s streets, yet there are still many locations in need of bike parking facilities. The success of the online requests has been so overwhelming that BikePGH is actively looking at options to expand the program and continue their mission of making Pittsburgh a safer and more enjoyable place to live and ride.

To find out more about the bike rack program visit http://www.bikepgh.org. “> http://www.bikepgh.org.

The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin (BFW) celebrated a victory for cycling on November 19th, when the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors passed a measure to put bike racks on all Milwaukee buses. Milwaukee County will provide the local match for Milwaukee’s Bike Racks on Buses Program. The project will be in full swing this spring and completed by the fall of 2010.

BFW has been working with the Milwaukee County Transit System for nearly five years on various measures. The campaign for bike racks on buses has been running for two and a half years. According to Shea Schachameyer of BFW, “I view the campaign’s success as yet another example of the power of grassroots organizing; it was because of the broad base of support which the campaign attracted and the BFW’s ability to mobilize those supporters on a dime’s notice which has led the program to be implemented this spring.”

Read more on this victory from Shea here (http://www.bfw.org/advocacy/index.php?category_id=4027). To read more about the bike racks on buses program click here (http://www.bfw.org/advocacy/index.php?category_id=4170).

The City of Pittsburgh installed the first of 200 new bike racks in front of Enrico’s Biscotti Co in the Strip District this morning.  The racks, in the iconic Three Rivers Bike rack design, are to go to business districts and small businesses as part of the Mayor’s Taking Care of Business Districts program.  BikePGH donated one hundred of the racks to the city (for small businesses, made possible through the Richard King Mellon Foundation and William Benter Foundation), while the City matched them with another 100 that will go into business districts.

The event drew an impressive crowd of cyclists, media and movers and shakers who were greeted with delicious baked goods from Enrico’s.  Mayor Luke Ravenstahl introduced the program, followed by speeches from BikePGH’s Scott Bricker, State Senator Jim Ferlo, State Senator Wayne Fontana, and Councilman Patrick Dowd.

The next step is placing the racks around town.  Many businesses throughout the city have already requested racks, and will get first dibs.  The rest of the racks will be distributed using a new online request form.  Once a business requests a rack, the location will be assessed to make sure it complies with ADA and other right-of-way standards.  If the site is in compliance, public works will then install a rack.  As they are in the public right-of-way, the City assumes liability on the racks thereafter.

For more information, visit http://bike-pgh.org/2009/10/city-launches-bike-rack-program-rack-request-form-now-live/

The Northeast Arkansas Bicycle Coalition is partnering with high school students from the NEA Career and Technical Center to provide bicycle parking for historic, downtown Jonesboro.  The students are building 20 bike racks as part of their community service project and will be submitting their work as part of a state-wide welding/engineering competition.

A neighboring city and county have adopted local bike routes into their master street plans.  According to the Arkansas State Highway Dept., accommodation of bicycles will be given due consideration when improvements or projects are planned for the state roadways that are designated as bike routes.  The city and county have also agreed to install Share the Road signs along these routes.  The signs are all provided by local donors, and since July of this year 75 signs have been purchased.

For more information, visit: http://neabicyclecoalition.org

The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin spoke during the Milwaukee County Transit System’s launch of the Bikes on Buses program in Milwaukee. According to the Bike Fed, “After five years of working on the campaign, Shea Schachameyer from the Bike Fed was pleased to load her bike onto one of the two buses and enjoy the ride to O’Donnell Park where others where able to try loading and unloading their bikes from the racks. Throughout the summer the Bike Fed, MCTS and 91.7 WMSE will collaborate on promoting the program through on-site demonstrations like those which took place during Milwaukee’s Bike to Work Week.”

For more information on MCTS’ Bikes on Buses program, click here…

Bike racks will soon be installed on five Reading, PA buses. BARTA’s (the local transit authority) decision to install bicycle racks is a big step forward, and a welcome development for people who want to ride and use public transportation, said Robert Hospidor, a Walk Bike Berks board member.

“This is a great option for people,” he said.

BARTA is installing bike racks on five of its buses, which will allow riders to store their bikes while traveling. The racks are similar to ones on buses in larger cities such as Philadelphia. Each rack holds two bikes.BARTA is spending $3,200 to buy and install the racks.

To read the full Reading Eagle Article, go to: http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=107887.