Thursday, July 5, 2012

Bike Racks Everywhere

From Local Motion

Bike racks are popping up all over Burlington!  The city Department of Public Works is constantly investing in new racks in the public right of way.  The Vermont Agency of Transportation has launched a new program to provide racks to communities racks at no charge.  And businesses are putting in racks themselves as part of their investment in their customers.
Among many other great examples, here’s a fantastic addition to the built-in rack at City Market:
Brent Demers and Pat Burns of City Market (shown above) designed and installed this rack system with help from Metalworks, a metal fabrication shop on Flynn Avenue.  It has several great features:
  • Extra-long racks for greater bike stability
  • Plenty of space between racks
  • Bollards (the vertical yellow plastic tubes) to prevent cars from backing into bikes
Kudos to City Market for giving up a car parking space to make more room for bike parking.  In exchange for one car space lost, they gained over a dozen new bike parking spaces!

Down on Pine Street, Lake Champlain Chocolates installed some great new racks as part of a parking lot reconfiguration:
These racks are deceptively simple, elegant, and straightforward.  They aren’t fancy, but it is clear that a lot of thought went into their placement and design.  A couple of important features to note:
  • The racks are inverted U style, which is one of the best options for an economical rack that works great for bikes
  • There is plenty of space between racks so bikes aren’t crowded
  • The racks are located right in front of the main entrance — great visibility and easy access!
  • There is plenty of space to wheel bikes in and out of the racks without running into a wall or other obstruction
Great job, Lake Champlain Chocolates!  Burlington needs a lot more racks just like yours.

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