Commercial bike racks in the shape of bicycles. Bike parking racks can now be ordered in any shape imaginable. These unique bike-shaped bike racks were added to the city by the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District
Cities are finding out that when people see more bike share programs and commercial bike racks around town, they start to think about riding their bicycles more as an alternative means of transportation.
It's a simple chicken and egg on a bike premise. For example, one woman recounts about how she noticed a large bike parking corral in front of her favorite coffee shop. There were several bicycles locked to the bike parking racks installed there.
That prompted her to think, "Wouldn't it be fun to ride my bike to get coffee in the morning instead of driving?"
That's how the proposition of adding more commercial bike racks and bicycle infrastructure works. When people see how easy it is to bike around town, they start bicycling around town.
Commercial bike racks add to the perception of "bicycle friendly"
Take Los Angeles for example.
The car capital of the world has been one of the slowest to promote bicycling commuting. But under the current administration, the city has totally switched gears and is becoming more bicycle oriented.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the city Department of Transportation installed computerized bicycle parking racks around the downtown area. Then the city rolled out a short-term bike share program.
Custom bike racks
The result? The program initiated 182,500 bicycle trips. Think about it. That's nearly 200,000 times a car was not used to get around city streets. Talk about relieving congestion.
There's another benefit. Those bicycles traveled a combined 453,000 miles. That resulted in more than 400,000 fewer pounds of carbon dioxide emitted into the air (in a valley that has a notorious problem with brown air).
That's one simple way to change the climate.
"Bike share has raised awareness for bicycling downtown," said Marcel Porras, chief sustainability officer for the LA Department of Transportation. "When you see someone in a suit on a bike or more women, or even tourists choosing to try it out, it signals to folks that bicycling isn't just a physical activity."
It's an effective way to get around the city.
Many other cities are involved in the same movement. Vancouver just installed about 300 new bike racks, a 300% increase over previous years.
Boston reportedly plans to increase the number of bike racks in their town by 10%.
Milwaukee just came out with an ordinance setting standards for commercial bike racks. Their goal is to increase the number of bike commuters to 5% of all trips within the city by 2020. The number seems low, but considering that .9% of Milwaukeeans commute by bike now, a 400% increase is a positive objective.
Use custom commercial bike racks to elevate awareness
Another clever way to generate buzz about bike parking racks and the push for more bike commuters is to install high-visibility bike racks around town.
With today's technology, you can literally create a commercial bike rack to resemble anything. Make it into any shape.
Some of the most common custom bike racks you see in many towns are commercial bike racks in the shape of bikes.
That's what the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District accomplished when they added eight colorful bike-shaped bicycle parking racks at different points in the city.
"As the popularity of biking continues to grow, the new colorful and artistic bike racks make for a bike friendly downtown," said Todd Vander Woude, Executive Director of the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District, in a release.
Who is not going to notice that? A bike parking rack in the shape of a bike will certainly catch the attention of every bicycle owner. It will get them thinking, "Hmmm. I'm seeing plenty of places to park my bike downtown. I'm also starting to see more people bicycling around town. Especially people who look like they are riding to work. This city supports cyclists. Maybe I should do the same thing."
Bicycling success helps to pedal more bicycling success.
Commercial bike racks in the shape of coffee cups in front of a Starbucks in Delray Beach, Florida
Another option is to encourage businesses to install more artistic bike racks.
For example, a coffee shop could feature commercial bike racks in the shape of coffee cups.
An ice cream parlor can feature a bike parking rack in the shape of an ice cream cone.
Bar? Beer mug, of course.
The other option is for the city to adopt a theme and then install a bunch of bike racks focused on that theme.
For example, Laramie, Wyoming added several bike racks with a western motif. Commercial bike racks in the shape of a herd of a moose or a cowboy herding cattle.
South Walton in the Florida Panhandle ordered bicycle racks with a promotional message with their wave logo laser-cut into a metal plate.
For a seaside town, add custom bike racks in the shape of sailboats, sand castles, waves or starfish. For an area that is famous for one type of crop, say strawberries, add bike racks on city sidewalks in the shape of strawberries.
Installing artistic bike racks is one of the easiest and frankly least expensive ways for a city to add more street art. And who doesn't love art?
The League of American Bicyclists has a program where it rates cities depending on how bicycle-friendly they are.
The criteria they use for ranking involves Enforcement, Education, Engineering, Evaluation, and Encouragement.
- For Enforcement, the requirements measure safety and how well bike ordinances are enforced.
- Regarding Education, the league looks at what sort of courses are offered to the public and students about how to properly ride a bicycle.
- Engineering obviously covers the number of streets with bike lanes, the size of the bicycle network and access to public transportation with bike racks on buses and trains for example, or bike parking at train stations.
- Under Evaluation, the league looks at a city's commitment to bicycling with at least one bicycle-oriented person on their planning staff per number of residents and the adoption of a bicycle plan for the community.
- The Encouragement facet covers the number of bike clubs and bicycle events that take place in the city and inspire more people to ride than drive.
Depending on the commitment by the municipality, the League awards Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond awards.
League organizers believe if you initiate all these programs, bicycling will grow in a town.
Imagine being the mayor of a city that receives a Diamond or Platinum award for their bicycling programs and infrastructure. The effect would be immense.
Millennials for one, love to bicycle. That's one way to catch the hearts and minds of a large segment of the population.
Another impact is on the quality of life in a city. More bicycles mean less congestion and less pollution.
The League forecasts that if a city adopts a Diamond type plan, they could see 20% of their population commuting by bicycle. For a Platinum designation, that number would be 12%. Imagine if a city could reduce car traffic by 20% or even 10%. There would also mean a monumental reduction in accidents with bicycles. The impact would be significant.
It's doable. In Copenhagen, 50% of city dwellers ride a bike to work.
Build it and they will ride. Create highly-visible bicycle-oriented changes to a city by adding bike share programs, protected bike lanes, and commercial bike racks, and residents will gladly start pedaling on two wheels to get around.