Cycling advocates seek bike parking

By Jennifer Eisenbart

Editor

As the fitness bug continues to spread across the state, members of group Bike Burlington want to make the city more cycling friendly.

Moving toward that goal, Matt Jarocki and Madonna Carr brought the City of Burlington Common Council its goals for more bicycle parking starting this spring.

In addition to adding possible bike corrals – parking spaces marked off with traffic barriers for bikes to be secured – the two also pitched a plan to place at least one new bike rack within city limits.

“Our goal is to get more bikes downtown,” said Jarocki. “I’ve seen communities really reach out and make their communities bike friendly.”

The immediate goal would be to hold a privately funded contest called “Park In the Art,” where a winning design and artist would be chosen to create an artistic bike rack for the prize (privately sponsored).

Jarocki and Carr said they had already spoken with Chase Bank – at the end of the Chestnut Street Loop in downtown and across the street from The Coffee House at Chestnut and Pine – about using an approximately 10-foot-by-eight-foot space to place the rack.

Both said the bank and the coffee house had indicated enthusiasm for the project, and that possible funding could come from the coffee house. They also stressed that the city would not be on the hook for any costs related to the new bike rack.

The issue, Carr said, is many people are using bikes to get around in good weather and want to be able to park them downtown. However, there are few places to secure the bike, and people don’t want to have to walk several blocks to get where they are going from there.

“People have voiced there are no places to park their bike downtown,” Carr explained.

The “Park in the Art” program offers numerous possibilities and themes for bike racks. As Carr said, all the group needs is property to place them on, and Jarocki agreed.

“There’s all sorts of creative possibilities,” Jarocki said.

The council, as well as Mayor Bob Miller, were cautiously enthusiastic after clarifying there would not be cost to the city.

“We’re not looking for city funding,” Jarocki said. “We’re just looking for space to put it.”

Miller gave the two a tentative go-ahead for at least the first bike rack project.

Alderman Tom Vos did ask, though, if the project moves forward, that the group work to plan six to eight sites ahead of time, so as to minimize the number of meetings required. The project will need approval from a number of different bodies, including the Historic Preservation Council.