New bike-parking trial in Ann Arbor

Cycling in to the university this morning, I saw a large blue bike rack sitting in one of the parking spots on State Street, just in front of the Bivouac. It's a huge rectangular thing that acts like a barrier for parked bikes against any oncoming traffic that might just be happening to make wide turns.

The basic idea is - I think - a good one: provide more places for bikes to park that isn't impeding foot traffic, thus making it more desirable to walk and bike to the "downtown" area. This bike parking structure is only temporary, and I don't know if there are any more around town. However, it's sponsored (if that's the right word) by the Downtown Development Authority, so I would hope that one (or more) of these show up downtown.

I don't know, though, if blue is the best color to paint these, since - apart from some reflective tape - it's not highly visible even during the day. Furthermore, people aren't expecting to see something like it, so taken together with its limited visibility (especially when not in use), it's likely that drivers will complain that it's a road hazard.

However, if you've seen the bike rack and want to provide the city with your own feedback (it apparently really helped with the issue of installing the LED streetlights), then I encourage you to call in:

UPDATE: Looking at the DDA website story on this, there are two more bike rack stations: one in front of the People's Food Co-Op and the other in front of Arbor Brewing Company. Three in total... they do target places that are high-bike traffic areas, but I think there could be more penetration; for example putting one on at William and Main, to get "both ends" of Main Street by complementing the one in front of Arbor Brewing Co.