Downtown Parkersburg is dotted with creative bike racks.

Strategically-placed bike racks, like this one at a Parkersburg coffeeshop, can increase traffic and business.

“I would ride my bike to work if there was a safe place to lock it up.” That’s what person after person told the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals when they were writing their Biking Parking Guidelines.

Forty percent told the association they would ride their bikes around town if they had a safe place to park them.

With high gas prices, people say they want bike racks at places where they often go: work, grocery store, library, post office, downtown.

“If we can get people riding more by making it safer and giving them a place to lock up their bikes, why wouldn’t we do that?” asked Jamie Jeffrey, director of Charleston’s KEYS 4HealthyKids. “It’s great exercise and a big return for not much money.”

Want more bike parking in your community?

Huntington’s Ritter Park is often full of bike riders. One attraction: bike racks!

• List likely places for bike racks.. If there were a bike rack at this place, people might ride their bikes there (store, downtown, post office, library, school, etc.)
• Get business sponsors for  commercial bike racks
• Hold a Creative Bike Rack Contest. Parkersburg and Charleston did! Bike racks as public art! Parkersburg put the winners in a public art exhibit at the local gallery.

Information and resources:

Why not ask local artists to design bike racks?

• Bicycle Parking Guidelines, Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals: types of racks, model regulations,  Bicycle Parking Guidelines
• Bikeparking 101: http://bikeparking.com/
• The economic case for on-street bike parking. (Bikenomics). This will help you get bike rack sponsors. The Economic Case
  

  United Bank in Parkersburg made a rack in the shape its logo!

• Model bike parking legislation: http://changelabsolutions.org/publications/bike-parking
• Great article on “What makes a good bike rack” http://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2016/10/17/what-makes-a-good-bike-rack
• The People-Powered Movement needs safe bike parking to grow! https://www.kosmosjournal.org/article/the-rising-people-powered-movement-of-movements-is-transforming-the-world/
• VIDEO: www.streetfilms.org/a-bike-parking-protected-protected-bike-lane-grows-in-manhattan/
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Go to the Index square to find other pages of ideas that will help you get a bicycling program going in your community.

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