Here's a novel use of a vertical bike rack.

The Boathouse Cantina Restaurant in Salida, CO needed a bike rack to accommodate their bicycling customers in this mountain town.

Towns like Salida are perfect for bicyclists because most people live near the downtown and it is more fun and healthy to take a bike than a car.

The restaurant asked SIX LINE Metalworks for help with their bicycle parking.

SIX LINE Metalworks came up with the brilliant idea to create a Vertical Bike Rack that they could install on the sidewalk in front of the building, and still leave plenty of room for people to walk by.

They installed the bike rack in a "loading only" parking area ideally located in front of the popular eatery.

"This bike rack is located on a heavily trafficked sidewalk and our clients wanted to maintain as much space in front of the main entrance to the restaurant as possible," said Candice Schuller, Six Line's designer. She has a degree in interior design and an art background with more than 10-years experience.

Vertical bike rack implements DoubleUp pieces from The Park Catalog

SIX LINE Metalworks frame with Park Catalog DoubleUp Bike Racks

SIX LINE built a large, sturdy metal frame. For the bicycle parking pieces, they used DoubleUp Bike Racks from The Park and Facilities Catalog.

These DoubleUp Bike Racks are made with sturdy metal parts that keep the bikes upright and secure. Also included is a large locking bar, so that a lock can be inserted through the locking arm, bike frame, and the front wheel.

This allows a cyclist to use three points of locking contact as recommended by the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals.

SIX LINE also created some very cool bicycle artwork with metal plates that they placed on both ends of the rack. That artwork coincides with the bicycle outline laser cut into the DoubleUp bike pieces.

There are a few major benefits of Six Line's structure.

For one, the bicycle rack is vertical, so it does not take up much space on the sidewalk.

The frame consists of thick, square metal bars that keeps the rack upright and in place.

Bike rack art created by SIX LINE Manufacturing and designed by Candice Schuller

Secondly, this vertical bike rack is very artistic and an attention-getting piece of sidewalk art. Adding any artwork on city streets gives a downtown area a unique look that adds to its overall appeal. Artistic bike racks can be made in virtually any shape from coffee cups to flowers to racks that look like bicycles themselves.

Third - when a business adds a bike rack in front of their establishment, they are sending a very important message. That message is that this business supports bicyclists.

Cyclists will take notice. They will park their bikes in front of that business, which creates a tremendous amount of free exposure and good will for the company.

Research shows bicycling consumers tend to frequent businesses more often (after all they don't have to worry about parking or traffic jams) and consequently, tend to spend more overall in a month than a consumer who drives their car.

The fourth benefit, which is important in this age of "green" living, is that this business also supports alternative means of transportation. The more people bicycle around a town, the less congestion and air pollution.

Company involved in public art projects

What does Candice think of the DoubleUp Bike Rack components?

"They are great! Very sturdy, easy-to-use and we like that it's a simple design," she said. "We had the choice whether or not to purchase pre-fabricated racks from The Park and Facilities Catalog or make something custom ourselves. We chose to go with the DoubleUp as we liked their customer service and we also like that the product had already been tested and had high reviews."

SIX LINE Metalworks specializes in custom short-run manufacturing, fabrication and design. They handle both commercial and residential projects. They have also been involved in several pieces of public art in the area and obviously have a great eye for fine art as you can see from their bike rack design.

Owner Scott Schuller is a certified welder and has been fabricating pieces for more than 10 years.

"He's always up for a good challenge especially when it involves a public art sculpture," Candice said.

Michael Kilmartin, a senior executive with the Park and Facilities Catalog who worked with the Schullers on the project said, "We're very proud to be involved with this unique bike rack. This design serves two important purposes - to provide secure parking for bicyclists and to add an interesting piece of artwork to the downtown area. It's a double win for the community."

The staff at The Park and Facilities Catalog wishes the Schullers the best with future projects, including their metal sculptures. They just might have started a trend to install, space-saving, artistic vertical bike racks standing upright in commercial and public spaces.