Philly Bike Rack Contest Deadline Extended (and rack specs updated)

Attention ladies, gentlemen, distinguished guests, members of the jury, opposing pitchers, Trader Joe's crew members, Mister Speaker, passengers, our fellow Americans, and the owner of a white Dodge Stratus blocking the freight elevator:

Two important updates about the contest to create Philadelphia's next public art bike rack!

First, the deadline for submissions has been extended to September 30th.

Second, the specs for the large bike racks have been changed. The initial RFP incorrectly stated that dimensions for the rack had to include the locked bikes themselves. The updated document reflects the fact that those dimensions only pertain to the rack itself, not the bikes locked to it.

You can find the updated document with the specs, details of the contest, and everything else you need to know here.

If you are an artist, a designer, or just have a great idea for a bike rack, send it in! These racks will be featured in prominent places around the City, places like City Hall, Boat House Row, and Sister Cities Plaza. In a city increasingly known for its public art, your art will be in that collection!

One Month Left To Design Philly's Next Bike Rack

Calling designers, artists, and makers! There is one month left to submit designs for Philadelphia's next art bike rack!

In partnership with the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, we are issuing a call for proposals for bike racks to be installed around Philadelphia. This competition is open to all artists and design professionals. The deadline for submission in September 4th.

Let your imagination run wild (within the confines of the specs of the RFP). Other cities have bike racks that reflect something essential about that neighborhood or city - now it's time for Philly to do the same.

A Nashville art bike rack (image: Nashville Public Radio) 

Our goal is to use the same pavement twice: bring some desperately-needed bike parking to our streets, while enlivening our streetscapes with new public art. This contest is made possible by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation as part of its Knight Arts Challenge.

Artists are responsible for identifying the fabricator for the rack (but if your design is chosen, there is a budget to pay for the fabrication and installation). For full competition details, including the project budget, selection process, submission procedures and design guidelines, please see the official RFP document. Questions can be directed to Margot Berg at margot.berg@phila.gov.

Program Offering Free Bike Racks To Schools and Non-Profits

One model of bike rack being
offered in the free rack program

Attention schools and non-profits: the Reliance Foundry Co. is offering a limited quantity of bike racks for free to interested schools and non-profits.

They announced the "Take A Stand For Cycling" program on January 31st, so we don't know how many racks are left. But little facilitates bicycling to your school or location better than providing high-quality bike parking.

Recipients of the racks will have to pay for shipping, but Reliance will provide the installation hardware for the rack(s).

Check out the details of the program on the Reliance website.

Helping Philadelphia Teachers and Students Lock Their Bikes At School

Our Safe Routes Philly program brings pedestrian and bicycling safety lessons to Philadelphia elementary schools. More than 30,000 students have received our lessons since the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year. However, teaching children about the fun (and health benefits, sshhhh) of riding their bikes to school is hindered if the children can't keep their bikes at school once they arrive.

Recently-installed racks at Meredith Elementary at 5th & Fitzwater
(pots installed by the Terracotta Potting Solutions Coalition) 

The Bicycle Coalition learned in fall 2009 that the School District of Philadelphia had a stash of U-racks, but was not installing them. Once Safe Routes Philly began working with the School District in the fall of 2010, we began nudging the School District to find funding to install them. (That, or start an over-sized horseshoe pitching league.)

Shortly thereafter, the School District found funding! Safe Routes Philly staff worked with interested principals and schools to properly site the racks, and to date have facilitated the installation of 249 U-racks at 44 schools across the district. (The schools were chosen on a first-ask, first-served basis.)

Getting our children excited about biking to school is a critical step in keeping them healthy. We are happy to be facilitating the merger of education and infrastructure which can, with dedication and support, make Philadelphia a healthier city.

Interested in obtaining bike racks for your school? While there is not currently funding for new racks, you can join the waiting list by contacting Diana at diana@bicyclecoalition.org. You can also investigate programs which offer discounted racks to schools.

A Bike Rack On Broad St

It has finally happened.

As part of the the Adopt A Rack project a bike rack appeared this morning on Broad St just south of Chestnut in front of the Land Title Building, home of the Bicycle Coalition.

Getting a bike rack on South Broad St has not been easy, in 1997 the defunct Avenue of Arts Inc. frowned on the first wave of 800 Center City bike racks and no racks were installed on the street (despite the presence of chaotic school racks in front of the UArts). Even when more racks were installed in 2006 city officials balked, placing the racks instead on adjacent side streets such as Spruce and Locust.

The Bicycle Coalition signed for or "adopted" the 100+ new racks in the Center City and Old City districts.


















Bicycle Ambassador Coordinator Breen Goodwin admires the first of many new bike racks that will adorn South Broad St.

Shiny Red Racks on South Street

New bike racks began showing up last week on South Street east of Broad, red looks like the new color of South Street as there are also red street lamps and hardscaping being installed.

How to install your own bike rack in Philadelphia

• If you want to install your own bike rack in Philadelphia, here's the "drill":

Decide on which kind of bike rack fits your needs and where you want it to be located. The Bike Coalition has prepared a Bike Rack Fact Sheet to help.

• Apply for a bike rack permit from the Streets Department
• Once you purchased your rack and obtained the permit, contact Neighborhood Bike Works , or John Dowlin at 215-990-7832 for help with installation. John also provides assistance in deciding on rack location and recommending types of racks. You can also hire any contractor to install a rack as long a they have the right kind of hammer drill.

The 2003 University of the Arts Bike Rack Competition

In 2003 Industrial Design Studio at the University of the Arts held a bike rack design competition. The rack installation never received to political support needed for implementation. With the BCGP's new focus on bike parking and a new administration perhaps it's time to revisit putting well crafted and exciting racks on Broad Street.

New Contact for Bike Rack Permits

Bill Mautz no longer handles the Bike Rack permits. If you would like a free permit to install a bike rack contact Sean Mckeown sean.mckeown@phila.gov or 215-686-5097

Getting Bike Racks in Front of Your Home or Business

We get lots of requests for bike rack installation permits, To apply for a free bike rack permit from the City of Philadelphia you need to contact by email, Patrick O'Donnell, Streets Department Engineer - Right of Way Unit patrick.o'donnell@phila.gov or 215-686-5618. He needs the address of the installation, a sketch, by attachment, of the type of rack and where on the sidewalk it is to be positioned.

Several Companies sell Hitch2 (staple) and Inverted U Bike Racks, for a complete list of manufacturers go to: http://www.bicyclinginfo.org/de/manufacturers.cfm

So you have your rack, you got your permit now you need to secure it into the concrete. If you are not experienced with using a hammer drill and masonary bits and anchor bolts then you may want to employ someone who is. Bicycle Coalition founder John Dowlin has installed well over 100 bike racks throughout the city. John can also help with placement and rack purchase. You can contact him at cyclerecycle@hotmail.com

You may also want to look at the Adopt A Rack page to see if your location is getting a bike rack later this fall or winter http://www.bicyclecoalition.org/bfvmaps/adopt_a_rack.html