Bike Parking | Bike Friendly Richardson

May 2, 2013 • 6:02 am 0

Ride Your Bike To The Cottonwood Art Festival – THIS WEEKEND

Unfortunately, because of scheduling conflicts, Bike Friendly Richardson won’t be hosting a “Cruise To The Cottonwood” ride this spring. That doesn’t mean you can’t ride there. In fact, we think bicycling the best way to get to the festival – especially on such a beautiful weekend.

Also, thanks to the folks at the City of Richardson, we were told that there will be plenty of bike parking at the entrance, close to Belt Line. While we’re on the topic of bike parking, there will also be parking set up at the Wildflower Festival in a couple of weeks.

So, kick off National Bike Month with a fantastic ride with your friends and family and enjoy the wonderful art of the Cottonwood Art Festival.

Filed under: BFR Misc, Cool Richardson Destinations, Bike Parking, City Of Richardson, Cottonwood Art Festival

February 3, 2012 • 7:01 am 9

What About Bike Parking

So, we’ve got the great biking infrastructure in the works. Bike trails, bike lanes and bike signs are being set up all over town to encourage bike riding. But what about bike PARKING. Where are folks going lock their bikes once they reach their destinations? I’ve seen a few racks around town and I’ve managed to find some random sign poles or fences to lock my bike, but as ridership increases, parking is going to be a real problem.

We would definitely like to see more racks around our city facilities. There are a few racks at places like city hall, most schools and the public library. But other places we visit, including our post offices, playgrounds and parks don’t have them.

One of our goals this year is to map out bike rack locations around town and to encourage riders to politely request bike racks at their favorite destinations. We might even post a little flyer that you can print and hand out to business owners.

Filed under: Advocacy, BFR Misc, Bike Parking, Bike Racks, Lack of Bike Racks

May 11, 2011 • 5:21 am 1

Finally, Bike Parking At The Cottonwood Art Festival

We really enjoy going to the Cottonwood Art Festival. It’s probably one of the best artisan events in the Metroplex and it happens in one of our own neighborhood parks. Our only complaint about the festival is the insane automobile traffic and limited car parking during the event. There is no reason an event like this couldn’t have bicycle parking available to help ease some of those issues. Personally, I can’t think of a better way to attend a local, outdoor event, than to arrive on my bike. Reader and bike enthusiast, Brad M. also sent in the suggestion for a bike rack last year.

Well, it looks like event coordinators feel the same way. This year, at the front of the festival, there was a bike rack that was in full use. It was the only one, but it’s a great step in the right direction.

If you feel that bike parking is a good idea at this event, please contact the event coordinators and let them know. While you’re at it, tell them you would like more.

Filed under: Bike Change, City Stuff, Bike Parking, Cottonwood Art Festival

May 17, 2010 • 7:00 am 10

Bike Parking BCBS Richardson

One of the biggest problems with biking around town is the lack of bike parking. We had discussed the need for visible bike parking at local events, but there’s also need for more parking at many of the city’s rider destinations.

Looking at the current state of bike usage around town, one might think there isn’t much need for bike racks. They might not appear to be a justifiable expense for the city and most real estate developers.

We would like people to view it from a different perspective.

Sure, there’s the initial expense of putting up these racks. Sure, these racks may start off mostly unoccupied. However, if you build them in highly visible places and you inspire more people to ride, they will get filled.

A great example of local, proactive, bike friendly efforts is the new Blue Cross Blue Shield campus in Richardson. BFR friend, Dave Carter, had mentioned to us that they offered plenty of bike parking that was within walking distance of Galatyn Park. We took a ride to check it out and found 20 full sized racks on the south side of their parking garage. There is obviously no immediate need for so much bike parking, but they took the initiative and built them to help inspire and grow the bike community.

Our only criticism is that they are a little hard to find. It’s hard to inspire folks to ride their bikes when the racks are tucked away and out of site. Perhaps some nice Bike Parking signage would help.

EDIT: Post was updated to clarify our perspective. See comments below.

Filed under: Advocacy, BCBS, Bike Parking, Bike Racks, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Galatyn Park

May 12, 2010 • 12:00 pm 4

From The Suggestion Box – We Need Bicycle Parking

A few months ago, We opened up the BFR Suggestion Box. This is a place where the Richardson bike community can voice their opinions and suggestions about things they would like to happen in Richardson for cycling.

Fellow bike and community enthusiast, Brad M., forwarded to us a great email that he wrote to event organizers about his experience at the Cottonwood Art Festival. We thought it would be great to share it on the site:

We need Bicycle Parking… We have found it very difficult to find a space to lock the bikes up. Even in front of the pool there is not a bike rack that can be easily found. We end up locking to the chain link fence or a parking sign near the tennis courts every year.

My suggestion comes from an experience I have had attending the Austin City Limits Music Fest in Austin several times. They have a dedicated area near each entrance for bicycle parking. This is at a much larger scale, however could be incorporated into a smaller scale for Cottonwood (and Wildflower). This not only gives a safe, organized, and controlled area for bikes, but it also encourages bicycle use as other patrons walk by on the way in. A great place for a few temporary bike racks at Cottonwood would be just to the east or west of the park road where the police help cross at Beltline. There is plenty of room on the grass in between the last row of tents and the sidewalk along Belt Line. I believe this area should be well signed and promoted in the the festival literature to promote a sustainable way of travel to the fest as well as cut down on the neighborhood traffic. As people pass by in the traffic on Beltline they might be encouraged to go home and ride their bike back.

We think this is a great idea. We’ve always envisioned offering up some sort of bike valet service (like the SF Bike Coalition), but this solution is a much more obtainable goal.

Dave Carter with the City Of Richardson has mentioned to us that, for previous Wildflower events, they’ve pulled the city’s available racks and relocated them for event usage. He’s also mentioned to us via email: For the Wildflower Festival there are plenty of bicycle racks for parking bikes at the BCBS garage on the north side of Lookout Drive. Easy bike access from the Central Trail, Glenville Road and Routh Creek Parkway.

We hope to see more bike parking at more city events. Like Brad, we think having the racks available and fully visible will encourage more folks to ride their bikes to local events.