I love bike corrals! My big bike doesn’t really fit in the artsy ones, but I still love them. Riding through Ballard the other day, I passed one I’d never seen before. It’s not new, I’d just never biked on that block. I know we don’t have many in this city (Yet? Yet!), but there must be more than the eight ten I’m aware of.
Thanks to the recent Cascade Bicycle Club survey, we now know that cycling is extremely popular in Seattle, but what about bike corrals? I’m curious if a new installation would spark a controvery like the one currently happening in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Probably.
From the On-Street Bike Parking section of the SDOT Bike Racks page:
Why On-Street Bike Parking?
Aside from the fact that a single on-street bike rack can accommodate many more bicyclists than a typical bike rack, pedestrians also benefit from the reduced clutter along increasingly-encumbered sidewalks. Installing on-street bike racks near intersections or driveways can also enhance sight distance for motorists–a safety enhancement for all users of the transportation network.Where do they go?
SDOT will consider installing on-street bike parking upon the request of the adjacent business owner. Converting a motor vehicle parking space to on-street bike parking is typically warranted in locations where bicycle parking demand is high and sidewalks are constrained–for example, outside of restaurants with sidewalk cafes or in neighborhoods with narrow sidewalks flanked with tree pits and assorted street furniture.
Not to mention the dastardly expense of car parking.
Hopefully within a couple years this map will be ridiculously cluttered with bike corrals and not a useful tool, but for now, please help me fill it in. I’ll update this list and the map as necessary.
- Bike Works (3709 S Ferdinand St, Seattle, WA 98118)
- Cafe Presse (1117 12th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122)
- Essential Baking Company (1604 N 34th St, Seattle, WA 98103)
- Kaffeeklatsch (12513 Lake City Way NE, Seattle, WA 98125)
- Maritime Pacific Brewing Company and the Jolly Roger Taproom (1111 NW Ballard Way, Seattle, WA 98107)
- Melrose Market (1501-1535 Melrose Ave, Seattle, WA 98122
- Northwest Film Forum (1515 12th Ave, Seattle, WA)
- PCC Natural Markets – Fremont (600 N 34th St, Seattle, WA 98103)
- R+E Cycles (5627 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105)
- Red Apple Market (2701 Beacon Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144)
Some are fancy, artsy ones (Cafe Presse) while others are more lo-fi (PCC Fremont). But they all hold more vehicles than a car parking spot. Are there any on-street bike corrals in the city I’m missing? And, more importantly, what city blocks need one most?
Madi is Seattle Bike Blog’s Staff Family Cycling Expert. She lives in Wallingford and bikes all over town with her two kids’ in tow. You can read more of her adventures and thoughts on family life on two wheels at FamilyRide.us.
Comments
13 responses to “FamilyRide: Mapping our bike corrals”
Yay, bike corrals! Boo, arty ones that are designed by people who have never seen a bicycle up close before. The one in the photo doesn’t look too bad. The worst of all are the David Byrne-designed ones in New Yawk.
Byrne has most definitely seen a bicycle up close before, so you may need to adjust your criteria for what makes someone a qualified a rack-designer. And FWIW, at least the NYCDOT didn’t pay for them and they’re supposed to be only temporary.
[…] hoping Seattle Bike Blog readers can help me fill out a map of Seattle area bike corrals. I’ve only seen seven of them […]
More please! One of the most notable differences between biking in Seattle and Portland is the staggering amount of bike parking in Portland, including corralls. It is so nice to not have to circle the block to find available lockup space. Also corralls tend to provide a fun low dose of social interaction with other people who also have neat bikes.
Sounds good to me. Lack of sufficent on-street (or on sidewalk) bike racks is one of me peeves. Not sure how the anti-bike trolls will take this one…
West Seattle Bike Connections members are working with some merchants who really want more bike parking for their customers, at a couple of locations. At 10 bikes v. 1 car, it means more customers can park near their doors. Coming soon, we hope, but the City has cut funding for bike racks, so it may not be so easy right now.
This isn’t terribly useful for family cycling, as I suspect most folks don’t want to take their tots riding down 2nd Avenue, but I find this map of bike parking in Downtown parking garages quite useful. (Pretty sure I discovered it thanks to this blog, though I can’t find the post.)
Parking downtown—especially if we’re talking not minutes but hours—is much less of a worry if you know your bike will remain dry and under the eye of attendants and security cameras.
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Blocked your driveways
Its illegal to Blocked Your Driveway Public. Thanks for give the Idea of mapping Bike Carrals
Don’t Blocked Your Driveway Its Bad habit ! and totally Wrong
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