Bike Racks | Bike Friendly Richardson

City of Richardson Bike Parking Initiative

Posted in Advocacy, Bike Change, Bike Friendly by dickdavid on June 4, 2014

Increased bike parking has always been one of the goals of Bike Friendly Richardson. More bike parking provides incentive for folks to ride their bikes to local destinations, like parks, libraries and local businesses. We have a great city to ride, and now it’s time to work harder on our destinations.

Recently, we were asked by City Council member, Scott Dunn, to present information about creating a functional and comprehensive bike parking plan that would benefit, not only cyclists, but local business owners as well as the city. Bike Friendly Richardson‘s new Bike Parking Initiative’s lead, Mark Adams, was able to present a brief introduction to a bigger plan that will, hopefully, pave the way to a system of well designed and well placed bike racks that will encourage more cycling around town.

Along with some shared input from other local cyclists, Mark has done some extensive research into the world of reliable, sensible and secure bike parking, and we will be sharing that information with city council, staff and developers. We hope to follow in the footsteps of other great cities and incorporate a bike parking component into future building ordinances. We would also love to have the City as a supporter in our crusade to ask existing local businesses to consider investing in bike parking as well.

You can catch Mark’s presentation to the Richardson City Council here.

Tagged with: Bike Parking, Bike Parking Initiative, Bike Racks

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Alamo Drafthouse Cinema In Richardson Comes With Cool Bike Parking

Posted in BFR Misc, Bike Friendly, Cool Richardson Destinations by dickdavid on August 10, 2013

The highly anticipated Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Richardson is finally open for business. Not only has this become one of the hottest destinations in town, it also has an amazing lineup of bike racks that are in the shape of film reels.

Speaking of cool bike parking, the new Whole Foods in Addison has some very impressive bike racks that are in the shape of bicycles. It almost makes up for them leaving Richardson.

I’m glad that both of these businesses care enough about cyclists, and got really creative with their bike parking. This shows that there are some forward-thinking business owners that care about supporting alternate transportation, the local bike culture and a strong community.

I hope that bike parking, like this, continues to be an ongoing trend with new construction around town.

Tagged with: Addison, Alamo Drafthouse, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Bike Parking, Bike Racks, Richardson, Texas, Whole Foods

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What About Bike Parking

Posted in Advocacy, BFR Misc by dickdavid on February 3, 2012

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.

Tagged with: Bike Parking, Bike Racks, Lack of Bike Racks

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Bike Parking BCBS Richardson

Posted in Advocacy by dickdavid on May 17, 2010

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.