Advances in commercial bike rack laser cutting technology make it easy for towns or businesses to add unique bike racks with their own message or logo

Artistic commercial bike racks that double as works of art are breathing new life into city landscapes across America and with the technology available today, there are few limits to what you can create with your imagination.

With new advances in bicycle parking technology, you can literally create any type of design you want, either in the form of artistic bike racks in an interesting shape or  custom bike racks which use lasers to cut basically any type of image into a metal plate.

Here are some simple ideas to consider. But as we said, there are few limits on the type of unique bike racks y

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

Custom bike racks used by the Central Texas Council of Governments to encourage more bicycle riding and reduce air pollution

Sometimes a bike parking rack is more than a place to lock a bicycle.

In the case of the Central Texas Council of Governments, it's one more step toward creating cleaner air in a seven-county area.

With a grant from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the CTCOG recently purchased 60 custom bike racks from The Park and Facilities Catalog. These U-shaped, unique bike racks include a custom decal with the organization's air quality logo and an inspirational message: "Do your share for cleaner air."

A website,

Custom bike rack in Laramie Wyo. designed by artist Meg Thompson (Source: Laramie Main Street Alliance

It's a very simple formula for towns to attract business and add a little zest to the landscape - install artistic custom bike racks.

With today's advances in bicycle parking manufacturing, more and more municipalities and downtown development associations are discovering that they can easily feature a bunch of artistic bike racks on their sidewalks.

This immediately creates a buzz that brings in shoppers and creates a newfound sense of pride from residents.

The manufacturing of bike racks has made incredible advances in the past few decades. Rather than ordering a plain old grid-style bike rack, towns can now liven up their streets with butterflies, flowers,