CitiesGoGreen - November 2008 - (Page 27)

Sidewalk extensions are another variaton on the theme. For an extra $30,000 or so, users get a more “constructed” area, often covered, with a display point for bike safety and other materials. Portland, OR decided these are too expensive, opting for a greater number of parking space corrals, but remains interested in developing other covered options. Safety Safety is a concern with people and bikes in the street, so bike corral boundaries are sometimes lined with black and yellow reflective flexible poles, encouraging sidewalk access and fending off cars. Corrals are usually installed in corner parking spaces, adding the safety benefit of more visibility around the corner for pedestrians and drivers. Sarah Figliozzi, Portland’s Bicycle Program Specialist, said businesses advocate for bike corrals at their storefronts because they clean up the sidewalk area and say, “I’m bike friendly” at the same time. She said the city tries to place corrals in predictable places near key destinations, so not all business fronts are ideal spaces. Photo courtesy Corri Flaker-GetaboutColumbia.com The City of Portland just added four bike corrals, replacing six parking spaces and bringing the city’s total to 10. Local businesses, business associations and neighborhoods paid for the first ones, but the recent additions are funded by the City’s Bike Parking Fund. Portland supports that fund with money collected from developers who opt out of the city’s bike parking code requirements. Figliozzi says the parking structures embody the city’s goal of “making cycling in Portland irresistible.” Columbia, MO built its first bike corral last spring with a grant from the Federal Highway Administration’s Non-Motorized Transportation Pilot program, and plans to install three more bike corrals before 2010. The city left the parking meter in place at the first corral and is asking for donations from bikers, which they hope will help fund biking infrastructure in the future. Bike corrals are an affordable, effective and a readily available response to the growing popularity of cycling. Cyclists like and use them and business owners like the additional traffic. And pedestrians can walk on the sidewalk without fear of tripping over pedals. Portland uses blue corrals (opposite and above) to create visual identity and send a consistent welcoming message. Do you have stories about or photos of bike corrals in your community? Share them at CitiesGoGreen.com. Below: The first bike corral in Columbia, MO is full most of the time, and the city plans more to accommodate the overflow. November 2008 27 Photo courtesy City of Portland http://www.portlandonline.com/Auditor/index.cfm?a=ecjfj&c=dbcbi http://www.getaboutcolumbia.com/news/view/46/New%20downtown%20bike%20corrals%20(4/24/08).html http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bikeped/legtealu.htm#sec1807 http://citiesgogreen.com http://citiesgogreen.com http://citiesgogreen.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CitiesGoGreen - November 2008

CitiesGoGreen - November 2008 Contents In Motion Disaster Housing for $200: The Hexayurt Coming Soon: A Code-Ready Green Building Standard from ASHRAE ICMA Embraces Sustainability Fort Collins, Colorado Interview: ClimateWise, Business Smart 12-for-1 Parking: Bike Corrals Fresno County More Biking and Walking for Better Communities

CitiesGoGreen - November 2008

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