On-Street Bicycle Racks

Project Updates:

April 2009
  • On Saturday April 24th, the DDA installed the first round of on-street racks, locations include:
    • Bivouac on State Street, Panera on North University, and Mighty Good Coffee on Main Street
  • The on-street rack at the Peoples Food Co-op will return very shortly as well - once adjustments have been made to accommodate both the on-street rack and adjacent parking
  • Due to high use, the DDA ordered two additional racks for installation in May or early June
  • The On-street racks are featured in Bicycling.com - Ann Arbor tops among America's Top 50 Bike-Friendly Cities


Project History:

In August 2009, the DDA continued efforts to support a menu of transportation options and respond to the changing needs of Downtown users. To meet the growing demand for Downtown bicycle parking and determine the feasibility of on-street bike parking, the DDA installed racks as part of a summer pilot project. Similar on-street bicycle parking has been installed successfully in places such as Seattle, WA.
 

In downtown Ann Arbor it can sometimes be difficult to accommodate the demand for sidewalk bicycle parking in very active areas, as space can be at a premium given competing demands by café tables, book racks and pedestrian walk space. In this pilot program, the DDA installed bike racks in metered parking spaces that had been bagged for this purpose. The racks accommodate up to 14 bicycles in the space that would otherwise accommodate a single car. They will remain in place during warm weather months when bicycling is more popular, and removed when cold weather returns to allow for snow plowing, and other maintenance.

In August 2009, the DDA purchased a total of five on-street bicycle racks and installed three in the following locations:

Kerrytown area: 200 block of N. Fourth in front of the People’s Food Coop
Main Street area: 100 block of E. Washington Street in front of Arbor Brewing Company
State Street area: 300 block of S. State Street in front of Bivouac

Two additional racks serve as floaters to be utilized during special events.


Community Feedback

To determine how well the 2009 pilot project worked to meet bicycle parking demand, the DDA sought feedback and received numerous comments from the community. The majority of the feedback voiced nearly unanimous support to continue the on-street bike rack program. Many people indicated a strong appreciation, noting that the racks helped to fill a need for bike parking while also adding to the hip feel of Downtown Ann Arbor.

The DDA also received suggestions to help improve and tweak the program in years to come, starting with spring 2010. To suggest a location for an on-street rack come spring, please visit our bicycle parking request form.