The City Makes A Stand... For Bikes
The CIty has even agreed to find a solution for the areas around town where the poles were yanked. That means that there will be a combination of racks and rings in our commercial districts. Councilman David Rivera was excited to learn that the parking poles on Grant Street that were not even in jeopardy of removal (due to the new Pay and Display system) can benefit from the project. During Friday's meeting at City Hall, Justin Booth (Blue Bikes - photo) announced that the sum of $25,000 will immediately be secured for the rings and racks. Plus, The City is going to pony up some cash as well. And if the program works we have a good shot at securing even more dedicated money from programs that assist cities attempting to combat pollution through green measures. From Councilman Michael LoCurto who was also in attendance:
"The City is going to use the existing meter poles to begin bringing bike parking to business districts. The plan is to develop a list of which meter poles to keep. Councilmembers will consult with business association leaders to determine this. We have to put this out of bid, but hope to have them installed in August.
In the long term, the City will pick locations without meters for future placement of bike racks. This will probably not happen until next year." - Mike
For those of you who may know Justin Booth, just seeing his eyes light up as the good news was announced was priceless. Here is a guy who has worked tirelessly to make Buffalo a progressive and bike-friendly city. Thanks to LoCurto, Rivera, Len Sciolino, and The Mayor's office for realizing the opportunity. And the select few at City Hall who speeded up this effort (you know who you are)... you made it happen. Thanks also to Alan Oberst from Rochester for his support and insight into the artistic side of the parking pole project. And to Tom Krehbiel and everyone else that stayed on top of this issue - you guys (and gals) rallied with your joint support.
Now it's time to get busy getting this plan into action.
What Others Have To Say
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Comment Options
orlanmon
Wonderful news, why not accept online contributions as well; I am sure there will be plenty of businesses as well as individuals who will invest in this endeavour. Also it would be nice if some sort of Buffalo theme/motif is used in the ring design; give something as mundane as a bike rack ring some artistic appeal. Ride for Roswell this AM and as usual the WNY cycling/bikiing community will more then likely help make this another record year for fundraising and participation, weather permitting of course. Bring your rain gear!
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orlanmon
Wonderful news, why not accept online contributions as well; I am sure there will be plenty of businesses as well as individuals who will invest in this endeavour. Also it would be nice if some sort of Buffalo theme/motif is used in the ring design; give something as mundane as a bike rack ring some artistic appeal. Ride for Roswell this AM and as usual the WNY cycling/bikiing community will more then likely help make this another record year for fundraising and participation, weather permitting of course. Bring your rain gear!
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sbrof
It is great news and I think some balance between removal / new racks is a win for everyone. I would love to see the design for the racks be very simple, functional and long lasting. Anything that is going to be as exposed as these will be to the elements and use shouldn't become a burden down the road. Toronto's rings are a good example of something that will be both functional, nice looking and durable. I am not saying we need to copy them and any way we can localize the concept would be a win. I just don't want people in 5 years to look at them and think it would have been better to just remove the poles because they require too much maintenance.
Either way, great win for city residents here and I also find it amazing that the city will cry about no money but when people actually get behind something as had happened here they find a way. As they say, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
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TranspoGuy
This is great news. Not only will the bike rings/racks allow for potential bikers to actually have a choice, but if they are done right they can become public art. Other cities have done different designs by neighborhood, to match the eclectic character. It would be nice to see them open up bike ring designs to local artist and add some variation to the streetscapes.
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sbrof
+ local artists can be cheap.
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RPreskop
This is an excellent idea. Since I own a bianchi road racing bike, I prefer something sturdy like a parking meter to lock my bike. However with the old parking meters disappearing, it will be great to see bike racks and bike rings along all the major thoroughfares. It is about time the city accomodated the bicyclist and not just the automobile. I hope that both Delaware and Elmwood Avenues are among the first major streets equiped with bike racks/rings. Now if we could only get designated bike lanes on all the major thoroughfares in both the city and surrounding suburbs that would be awesome.
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