Lakewood
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Better Biking in Lakewood www.bikelakewood.org |
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We Need More Bike Racks! Unless you use trees, signs and the like, there are very few places to park your bike in Lakewood. BikeLakewood is calling for, and helping evaluate, substantially increased short term bike parking ("bike racks") all over the city. The City of Lakewood provides thousands of parking places for its motorists in parking lots and on streets all over town. But there's only one bike rack on city property..... The old style bike "stands" (often called "wheelbenders") don't count as racks because they do not properly secure your bike, and in fact can damage it. And what few there are (in Lakewood Park and Madison Park) are rusted and quite unattractive. Also troubling is the complete lack of city-supplied bike parking in the commercial districts. Cyclists spend money too! We can do better! Fortunately, Lakewood's city leaders and civic organizations understand that there are many cyclists out and about who need a place to park their bikes, and they are working with BikeLakewood to provide bike parking. BikeLakewood was involved in the installation of the bike rack that now appears at the entrance to the new YMCA. Click here for a very good summary of how to properly select and locate racks for cities like Lakewood, particulary in the commercial districts (Detroit and Madison). BikeLakewood is evaluating four types of racks for possible use in Lakewood:  "U" Racks
-- "U" Racks are very functional. The smallest such rack resembles an
upside-down "U" and can hold two bikes. Larger "U" racks are sometimes
called "winders" or "rollers" and can hold many more bikes, depending
on their size. Shown to the left is Lakewood's only real bike rack,
located in Lakewood Park at the top of the new lakefront promenade.
We need similar bike racks at Lakewood's major destinations.
You'll note that this rack was not properly installed. Rollers are
designed to allow bikes to use either side of the rack, so that
they hold more bikes. The pad should have been extended back on the
other side. Post Racks
-- Post Racks are single posts with a loop onto which you can lock
your bike. They are also sometimes called "bollards." There are a
couple interesting post rack options for Lakewood that can actually be
attached to working parking meters, or installed over meter posts that
have had the meter head removed. In fact, the rack shown to the right
is exactly that. It is installed over an old meter post. We
believe such "racks" present a very viable bike parking option for
Lakewood, especially for the storefront businesses in Lakewood's
commercial districts.  Event Racks
-- Event racks are portable bike parking structures that can be
transported from event to event, easily set up, and stored when not in
use. We need portable bike parking for the many great events that
take place in Lakewood.  Custom Racks
-- Custom racks sometimes don't even look like bike racks, they look
like metal sculptures. But they double as a place to secure
your bike. BikeLakewood is not seriously evaluating custom racks
because they are more expensive and less functional. And yes, that
thing on the right is a bike rack. We chose to depict it because
it's a skater, and the skaters need a better rack at the Skate Park.
Not that wheelbender. But not this one either (it is kind of cute
however). Click the link above for a look at a wide variety of custom
bike rack options. Perhaps some businesses may want to explore custom
racks, so we have organized many links for your perusal.Other Bike Parking Links Below are some links that highlight what other bike advocacy groups are doing (or proposing) in their communities. Missouri Bicycle Federation, Greater Kansas City Bicycle Federation -- Kansas City, MO is in the midst of a two-year project to completely rewrite all of their planning and zoning ordinances. In addition to replacing outdated ordinances, the proposed ordinances include extensive bike parking regulations. As proposed, most businesses, apartments/condos and public buildings would be required to provide bike parking. This site also links to several other sites that detail the bike parking ordinances of other cities. Louisville, KY Land Development Code -- Shown here is their Bicycle Parking Design Manual. It specifically rejects the wheelbender bike stands most often found in Lakewood. |