bike parking that actually works (and some that doesn't)

If you're not familiar with Bikeyface, she's a Boston area cartoonist who writes and draws about bike-related issues.  I've seen many situations where a business or government entity installed bike racks with good intentions, but the racks ended up being fairly useless due to poor placement, poor quality racks, or both.  Bikeyface covered it rather well in this blog post.

If you own a business or are part of an organization considering bike rack installations, this set of guidelines is one of the better resources for getting it right, in choice of bike rack design and how to place racks so they're most effective.  Please review which rack styles work well and which are useless.

Bike rack needs have changed over the years. For commuting or transportation riding, most people ride mountain bikes or other utilitarian or comfort bikes, which have wider handlebars than the road bikes that used to be the norm. This means that bike parking slots need to be wider than in the past. Also, most people carry U-locks, which are much more secure than cable locks, but not flexible.

When the new public library opened at 95th and Damen, I was happy to see a 10-bike rack by the front door (photos below), but less than thrilled when I actually tried to use it.  This rack is a good, secure design. Unfortunately the contractor who installed it was apparently clueless about actual use of such a rack and standards for installation.

These are designed for bikes to be positioned perpendicular to the rack, and for a lock to go around wheel, rack and part of the frame. Most adult bikes have 26" or larger wheels. Some bikes with 26" wheels barely fit here. Bikes with 27" or 700c wheels are difficult or impossible to secure here with most U-locks.

For secure locking, the rack should be far enough from a wall or other barrier to allow the back of the bike wheel to be even with the rack or just beyond it. This rack should be at least 6" further from the wall. It's set in concrete, so this problem is unlikely to get fixed anytime soon.

Public library rack installed too close to wall for secure locking for most wheel sizes

This rack position would be fine if most folks carried chains for locking, but most U-locks aren't large enough to work for this situation. People who care about locking their bikes securely often resort to Plan B, turning the bike parallel to the rack, blocking 4 or more spaces. This is fine if only 2 or 3 individuals want to use the rack. Most people approaching by bike never see the rack in the corner of the parking lot behind the fence, and end up locking to the bench or fence instead.

People who want to lock securely do this, blocking 4 or more spaces,
so rack is only usable for 2 or 3 bikes.

The folks at Walgreens get a few points for effort but an F for execution, both at 95th and Ashland and 103rd and Western. This type of rack is called a "wheelbender" because that's what can happen if your bike gets knocked over while locked to one of these racks. With a U-lock, only one wheel can be locked to the rack - not secure at all. With a long chain, it might be possible to lock securely, but few people carry those because they're heavy. Bikes locked here block most of the sidewalk.

It's difficult to lock up to this rack at all. It was nearly impossible even to
lock the U-lock, and anyone could undo the quick release on the front wheel
to easily steal the rest of the bike. It's a truly useless rack.

Racks in visible locations are the best. No one uses the rack at the 103rd St. Metra station because it is nearly invisible from most angles of view, making it a vulnerable location for theft. Anyone who rides a bike to that station locks up at one of the racks around the corner on 103rd St.

Mostly invisible rack at 103rd St. Metra station

Good bike parking can be a real asset to a small business, allowing it to serve more customers with less car parking. It encourages employees to ride to work. At a train station, it can reduce the number of people driving to the station, reducing traffic congestion as well as air and noise pollution.

These 2 bikes take up only 2 spaces in front of Ellie's, leaving the rest of the rack free.

The rack above is a better choice than the narrower style of wave racks at 103rd St. and 99th St. Metra stations.

Bike racks at County Fair are used by customers and employees

There's more discussion on this topic on the Chainlink.  If you're interested in bike-related issues, the Chainlink is an excellent resource.

lack of transparency on 95th Street

I was concerned and disturbed to learn about the nature of a proposed zoning change and redevelopment proposal for the parcel immediately west of 95th St. Metra station. Another 19th ward resident wrote an insightful piece about why such a proposal makes no sense for a transit-adjacent parcel, where we should be prioritizing pedestrian-oriented usage.

1800 W 95th St.

The lack of public notice for this proposal is equally disturbing. Sticking a sign in a window at a location that few people walk past is NOT sufficient public notice. There's nothing at that location now to give people a reason to walk there and see that notice.

This is a significant change for a location that has the potential to attract a good volume of business from Metra riders - if it's the right business. A well-publicized venue for public input should be mandatory for such a major change. Why haven't the ward office and community organizations publicized this so that 19th ward residents and Metra passengers could have a voice in the decision? Hiding this until it's only one approval short of having a green light smells worse than last week's garbage.

95th St. is already choked with traffic for much of an average day. There are many existing auto parts stores within a few miles of this proposed location, including Auto Zone stores at 89th andAshland and 95th and Richmond and O'Reilly at Western and 92nd Place (less than 1 mile away). As much as I want to see more businesses on 95th St., this one is NOT a winner for the community as a whole.

Comments on this topic on EveryBlock have certainly been relevant:

* Yes, let's tear down a beautiful old building and put up an ugly box that will sit there empty after the store goes out of business like the auto parts store at 115th and Pulaski. How about using our brains and encourage a business that would cater to train "traffic". Put the box in the huge parking lot at the former location of Borders. Or do what some communities do...require that the new business conform to the architecture of the existing building and find businesses to create a boutique mall in the borders building. Jeez, is it that hard?

* When is the public hearing for this zoning change? There wasn't any proper meeting for those of us who will be affected.

* I just called the zoning department - looks like they approved this zone change already. I hope there will be some sort of opportunity for the community to review the design and voice opinions. Does anyone know what the next step for this proposal will be? Have they already purchased the existing building?

* Because of their design, most Borders are being repurposed into medical practices. Not in Beverly. The old library was supposed to become a Wishbone restaurant, more pizza place opened but not Wishbone? Now an Autozone to compete with O'reilly a few blocks away. We seem to have great people in place for urban planning and development! What about all the money spent in updating 95th street? Was it just to give contracts to some friends or was it actually to improve the business area? If so, Autozone doesn't need beautiful landscaping, never mind the traffic issues. somebody is not thinking very far here, while using our tax money. How about the mechanic shop down the street on 95th, are they trying to put them out of business? People walk to go to Metra, how about shops that cater to these people? When I get off the train, I'm not usually trying to bring home a couple of new tires and a new battery for my car in my purse. I love small squares and park, Beverly has those, in places that nobody wants to go to, and nothing around it. Anyone fancy reading a good book by busy 95th street, on the other side of the library parking lot? While I applaud green spaces, we can do better than that. More tax payer money spent in vain. How about the pedestrian crossing by 99th street Metra? On the wrong side of the street?!!!

Excuse my ranting, but I could go on as well as many of you. The problem is that you can't leave urban development to developers, they are just going to build stuff, make a buck and move on. ... If there is a petition going around against Autozone, count me in, I'll sign it.

* All good points. Why is everything decided in stealth mode? We need to remind our representatives that the represent us. They do not rule us.

Now we have a detailed EveryBlock post with research. Click here. And this is what it takes to appeal a zoning change.

Why didn't Alderman O'Shea give a reasonable opportunity for public input? Will there be curb cuts added to make 95th St. an even worse place for pedestrians? We don't want Beverly to look or feel like Evergreen Park. This kind of inappropriate change gives us a hard shove in that direction and makes Beverly less attractive as a place to live.

comings and goings

On a December morning, as I was walking to the 95th St. Metra station, I noticed an empty storefront where Markland Hubbard used to be.  There was a sign on door giving a new address of 1739 W. 99th St. Now there's competition for morning coffee sales on 99th again.

Iona's has stepped in to offer morning coffee and breakfast on 95th St., across the street from the station. They're open at 7 a.m. on weekdays except Tuesday.

Congrats to Home Run Inn on opening their new location on Western.  I look forward to the return of Franconello's and to trying out Horse Thief Hollow when they open.

So now we have one more vacant storefront on 95th St., which leaves me wondering when there will be a serious effort to make 95th St. more attractive to the kinds of businesses that will really attract customers and be assets to the community.  The streetscape project is appreciated, but it seems like an expensive bandage on a mostly untreated wound.

How about a serious look at more of the reasons why so many storefronts are vacant, aside from the economy?  What is the condition of the long-vacant buildings?  Are there any significant issues like leaking roofs?  Many building facades are worn and unattractive.  In some wards, I've seen facade rebate programs (from TIF money) used as a redevelopment tool.

For businesses whose customers are parking on the street, wouldn't it be nice if those parking across the street, and folks walking or riding bikes from the neighborhood, could get to those businesses more easily and safely?  I'd love to see a few boldly repainted crosswalks on 95th at non-stoplight intersections such as Hoyne, along with new pedestrian signage.

Wouldn't it be great to see something other than a day care business open in the vacant space at 99th & Walden - a cafe, perhaps?

Yes, it's a "what if" kind of day.  TGIF!