On and off street bike parking is definitely on the rise. Along with the rise in bike parking, there’s an interest in more creative and interesting bike racks. Along main street, inverted U hoop rack were the default standard. Fast forward today, we’re seeing cycle racks that create words and phrases, promote café’s and restaurants brands, brand shopping districts and market museums.
In the early stages of on-street bike parking, multiple hoop racks were combined via u-channel rails to create freestanding bike corrals. The desire to create bike parking that was more interesting led to bicycle corrals designed to look like cars, later fish and now you can let your imagine run wild. On street bike parking once again has transformed it’s self into more interesting objects – a string of bike looking bike racks, paper clips and other interesting objects.
One tool in the off street bicycle parking equation that has been missing is the combination of bike corrals and bike shelters. Cyclists are interested in the combination, but finding pre-engineered shelters designed for the urban environment can be tricky. The current bike shelter offerings tend to be bulky and un-inspired and their limited sizes can be a challenge.
But the Aspen, Pergola and Vizor pre-fabricated bike shelters may be changing that scenario. All three shelters have contemporary urban aesthetics. The Aspen and Pergola feature woodgrain aluminum powder coating that is quite suitable for upscale communities and historic districts. The Vizor stands out as a beacon of architectural design.
Another option that appear to have limited interest but could double or triple the amount of bike parking in high-density bike parking areas is the marriage of vertical and two tier bike parking systems with bike sheds. Vertical bike storage is being used extensively in apartments, condominiums and offices but has had limited success in other environments. Many standard bike shelters on the market will accommodate vertical bike parking.
On and off street bike parking is very much in demand.