12 for 1 Parking

Bicycles are proliferating as high gas prices drive people to put their feet to the pedals and as the delights of biking are rediscovered. Bikes improve fitness and health, often replace short car trips and are a cheap, non-polluting, greenhouse gas-preventing form of transportation.

But what do you do with them all? Bikes locked to parking meters, signs, each other and everything else in sight can become serious obstructions. Without some accommodation, cyclists are forced to compete with trees, pedestrians and newspaper racks for sidewalk space.

Bike corrals are one solution, and their use is spreading. Portland, OR and Columbia, MO have them. New York, Key West, FL and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada have them. Chicago, IL has them as a part of its Bike 2015 plan.

Bike corrals give bikes a designated place, acknowledge their importance (which cyclists appreciate) and clear the sidewalk. Shop owners like the extra traffic, and have been known to pay for their installation.

Read the rest of Page Buono's Bike Corrals article in the November issue of CitiesGoGreen.

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