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.
Bike Friendly Richardson 
Excellent! We have said on many occasions that it would be nice to have bike racks. We have had plans to ride to eat a few times but end up not doing it because there is no place to park our bikes safely. They need to be everywhere to make this work!
Agreed!
Maybe something in the flyer about effective positioning of racks.
Then sometimes when there IS a rack, it’s often placed so poorly that a rack meant for multiple bikes can only be used by one.
When my wife and I go on a bike date and there is nothing to lock to….we wind up facing our bikes in opposite directions and locking them together. (not the best solution, but it would make it more difficult to snatch and run)
Good to know. I’ll put it on the flyer.
Everybody might take a few minutes to review The ‘Sheldon Brown (RIP)’ Lock Technique at http://www.sheldonbrown.com/lock-strategy.html.
The flyer should include what make a good rack. A bad rack is sometimes worse than no rack. To those that don’t use them often, they can all look the same, but… Here is a set of racks picture of ones to avoid. http://bicycleparkingonline.org/photo%20galleries/bad-bike-racks
Thanks for the info.
[…] What About Bike Parking by dickdavid Bike Friendly Richardson 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… […]
The map and flyer are great ideas! Something we may want to add is information about how to become a “Bicycle Friendly Business” through the League of American Bicyclists program. Businesses can achieve a bronze, silver, gold, or platinum level designation. Achievement is recognized with an award, a national press announcement, a profile on the League website, and will also be featured in the Bicycle Friendly America Annual Yearbook.
http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bicyclefriendlyamerica/bicyclefriendlybusiness/faq.php
Here’s another source building on Michael and Yoderman’s comments:
http://www.cambridgema.gov/CityOfCambridge_Content/documents/tpat_BikeParkingBrochure.pdf