New Bike Racks for Montpelier?The Montpelier Bikes Project will work with the City of Montpelier to determine locations for 20 new bike racks. To do this, we're first inventorying where there are currently racks. See our draft list of current bike rack locations.
Where would you like to see a new bike rack? Also - this is beyond the City's current budget - but where would you like to see a covered bike shed, or bicycle lockers? You can answer these questions in an email to info@goinggreenvt.com or add to the comments on this blog.
If you are interested in donating $100 (Buy a Bike Rack) or $50 (Sponsor a Space), please contact us, and we will let you know when we are ready to collect funds for this project.
The new racks will most likely be the inverted-U racks as shown here. See Montpelier's current u-racks in real life in front of Coffee Corner.
4 comments:
One of the problems with the inverted U bicycle racks is not every bicycle owner is familiar with using one and either do not use it or if they do lock up their bike in a fashion that makes it harder for it to be used by another bike, which was the case this past weekend in one instance I observed. Thus it would help if there was some educational tool provided, maybe in the form of a laminated photo of a bicycle properly locked to an inverted U bicycle rack. Although it may seem obvious enough how to use them to those who are well aware of such bike racks, it should not be assumed it will be obvious for those who never have come across or used them before. For a time I did not use these racks because I never came across such before and was not sure how to use them properly. Then last month I started using one, yet am not sure if I had finally managed to figure out how to use it correctly.
P.S.
Having seen an example of a certain type of bike rack within an unrelated video elsewhere online, I searched for photos of such versions to offer them as a suggestion (although the placement of the wave rack shown within the photo is questionable and should be done differently: e.g., where and how the inverted U racks near Bear Pond Books on Main Street in Montpelier would probably work well for such racks), here. I think these bike racks would fit well and also be much better than getting mostly additional inverted U racks for Montpelier, plus these type of racks allow for the parking of 3 bikes per rack. Of course how and where they racks are placed would be key to making them as useful and secure as they can be. An example of more proper placement of these types are wave racks can be found in a photo on a page via Saris Cycling, here.
Thanks Morgan, for your comments. Actually, the photo that you linked to is not an inverted-U rack but a ribbon or wave rack. Ribbon / wave racks are not recommended, precisely because bicyclists sometimes lock across them - thereby turning a 4- or 6-bicycle rack into a 2-bicycle rack. They may allow parking of more bicycles (in theory) but they do not support the bicycle frame to prevent it tipping over. Here is an example of a correctly parked bicycle on a u-rack.
I think that these 'U' racks would be better placed parallel to the road so that bikes do not hinder pedetrian traffic.This way, sidewalk ploughing in the winter would be easier too.
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