Who wants an on-street bike corral?

Hey Chainlinkers,

The City of Chicago's Department of Transportation is introducing on-street bike parking corrals. On-street bike corrals are a low-cost way to provide parking for 10 or more bicycles in the same space typically occupied by a car. Currently, there are four bike corrals in Chicago, but there is a need for many more. There are many reasons why a business should get a bike corral installed, but the biggest benefit is economics. We keep hearing it in the news. 

Bicyclists tend to visit their local shops more often and spend more per month with all that disposable income. Making a bicyclists visit as convenient and inviting as possible makes sense for good business.

Do you know of a business or building that would benefit from having a bike corral?

Please reply here or send any suggestion to me at tony@activetrans.org

Also check out the bike corral website!

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Permalink Reply by Duppie on December 31, 2012 at 6:58am

I'd agree with both locations that Kevin mentions!

Kevin Zolkiewicz said:

Metropolis Coffee, 1039 W Granville. I believe the owner has expressed interest in offering increased bike parking.

I'd also suggest Clark and Berwyn on the west side of the intersection. There's practically no space for sidewalk racks at this corner due to a bus stop and numerous sidewalk cafes. Since Berwyn west of Clark is also the location of Andersonville's farmer's market in the summer, I think a corral at this spot would see a lot of use. Plus, if placed along Berwyn, it could remain year-round unlike Andersonville's other corrals located along Clark.

Permalink Reply by Jared on December 31, 2012 at 8:19am

Or just install more normal racks on the sidewalk.

Stefanie said:

I know we prefer to have these in high visibility areas and near business entrances, but in looking to avoid issues with parking meters deal and preserving loading zones, couldn't we look to nearby residential/commercial street intersections? In the case of Rev Brew and Coles, for example, perhaps a corral or two on Beldin and/or Medill?

Parking lots at public libraries should have corrals too. The racks at the Logan Square and Bucktown libraries are woefully inadequate.

Permalink Reply by Joanne McSweeney on December 31, 2012 at 9:37am

We would love to have these in front of our 3  On The Route Bicycle shops in Lincoln Square, Lakeview and South Loop. I tries last year to sign up for one at our Lakeview location. It was then a make your own corral and the charge was a hefty $3000.00 from April to October. I agreed. Still never heard from anyone.

Permalink Reply by Tony on January 2, 2013 at 4:46am

Thanks Kevin and Duppie for suggesting Metropolis. Great idea! I'll reach out to them and look into the Farmer's Market location.

Duppie said:

I'd agree with both locations that Kevin mentions!

Kevin Zolkiewicz said:

Metropolis Coffee, 1039 W Granville. I believe the owner has expressed interest in offering increased bike parking.

I'd also suggest Clark and Berwyn on the west side of the intersection. There's practically no space for sidewalk racks at this corner due to a bus stop and numerous sidewalk cafes. Since Berwyn west of Clark is also the location of Andersonville's farmer's market in the summer, I think a corral at this spot would see a lot of use. Plus, if placed along Berwyn, it could remain year-round unlike Andersonville's other corrals located along Clark.

Permalink Reply by Tony on January 2, 2013 at 4:51am

Stefanie, thanks for the tip. Not all commercial streets have loading zones to give up, so it makes sense to install a corral on a nearby side street as long as it's visible. Cafe Jumping Bean in Pilsen, for example, has their corral around the corner from 18th street on Bishop. 

Stefanie said:

I know we prefer to have these in high visibility areas and near business entrances, but in looking to avoid issues with parking meters deal and preserving loading zones, couldn't we look to nearby residential/commercial street intersections? In the case of Rev Brew and Coles, for example, perhaps a corral or two on Beldin and/or Medill?

Parking lots at public libraries should have corrals too. The racks at the Logan Square and Bucktown libraries are woefully inadequate.

Permalink Reply by Charlie Short 2.9 on January 2, 2013 at 5:08am

There's a (huge) loading zone on Lincoln around the corner from On The Route that I bet we could use as a bike corral location, Tony. That area is super under-served with Bike Parking as it is.

Permalink Reply by Agnieszka Z. on January 2, 2013 at 7:24am

Good question, Tony. The Whole Foods on Halsted could use one. There is some on-sidewalk bike parking in front of the store, but the racks are often full. 

Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on January 2, 2013 at 10:24am

Few things would make me happier than to see the elitist travesty of valet parking replaced with bike corals!

Steven Vance said:

Regarding bike parking corrals and the parking meter contract...

There are lots of loading zones and some businesses are willing to use those for bike parking corrals instead of loading. There's one existing case: Hopleaf in Andersonville did this. 

"Renting" a parking space isn't the only way to deal with the parking meter contract. Metered spaces can be swapped for unmetered spaces elsewhere. 

Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on January 2, 2013 at 10:53am

We need more of these in the Loop. A significant percentage of bike commuters are riding into the Loop daily, and bike rack space can get tight in summer months.

Also, I'd prefer if they weren't removed in the winter. By that argument, we should be removing car parking spaces in the summer.

Permalink Reply by Shirlee Berman on January 2, 2013 at 5:23pm

The Civic Opera Building could definitely use a few.

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on January 2, 2013 at 7:47pm

Only the ones on snow routes are having to be removed during the winter. These are the routes that ban all parking once the snow hits 2 inches. These are different than overnight winter parking ban.

Adam Herstein said:

Also, I'd prefer if they weren't removed in the winter. By that argument, we should be removing car parking spaces in the summer.

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on January 2, 2013 at 7:48pm

I think the streets around this building have sufficient sidewalk space to accommodate bike parking there. 

Shirlee Berman said:

The Civic Opera Building could definitely use a few.

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