Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bicycle, bicycle parking, bicycling, bike parking, bike racks, bike theft, cycling, denver, Downtown Denver Partnership, dumb racks, pedalcycle, urban cycling
The Downtown Denver Partnership advises cyclists to lock bikes to bike racks rather than trees, street lights or other sidewalks furnishings. There are 600 racks scattered throughout downtown Denver.
via More cyclists in Denver — and record numbers of bicycle thefts – Denver News – The Latest Word.
You mean one of these racks….
HURST CAN COMPLAIN ABOUT ANYTHING. In other downtown abominations, check out these new racks, which have plates welded where one would most like … to stick … one’s … lock. I should be happy you say, grateful that these things are being installed — racks is racks right? I mean, they are still useable. Unfortunately I can’t get past the sheer stupidity represented in these curious artifacts. Every time I am compelled to use one I find myself grumbling, so I avoid contact.
As the sticker there proudly proclaims, they are brought to you by the Downtown Denver Business Improvement District, an organization which until now has seemed to view bicycling as a hindrance to business, something to be stamped out rather than facilitated. These pants-suited business boosters never exhibited any appreciation for potential customers on bikes, or the workers downtown, from lawyers to dishwashers, who use bikes to get to their jobs. They certainly had little appreciation for the messengers who served their tenants, I mean overlords. Then the cycling renaissance of the ’00s took the BID by surprise. What are all these people doing riding bikes around down here? Now they present these awkward racks to their friends the cyclists with the prime rack area welded shut to create a place to put their sticker or some other form of advertisement. Am I on hidden camera here? This is a bit like getting a delicious sandwich with a huge bite taken out, and a sticky note there with ‘Brought to You by Mo’s Deli’ written on it. And of course the racks are popping up everywhere — except where they would be most useful. That’s about a D+ for execution, BID.
from http://www.industrializedcyclist.com/92809_Hope_You_Had_a_Nice.html
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Industrialized Cyclist Notepad 
Gravestones coming in their funeral black colour, unfunctional and unusable by the standard downtown cyclist, they’ll work great for locking the bikes of your kids. A positive thought: people in DDB had in mind the new generations of cyclists to come. Maybe..
Comment by Luca Salvucci July 9, 2012 @ 05:29Hey there I’ve got interesting news about the topic from a friend of mine living in Denver. She recently discovered after a pilgrimage to Whole Food that they installed new bike racks with pipes of 3″ diameter that don’t allow you to lock your bike securely (frame + front wheel) and that don’t match the Denver city suggested standards. Give a look here for Denver suggested standards for bike racks: http://www.denvergov.org/bikeprogram/BicyclinginDenver/BikeParking/tabid/438244/Default.aspx
Comment by Luca Salvucci July 25, 2012 @ 01:34Ciao
Thanks for the info Luca..
Comment by roberthurst July 25, 2012 @ 10:36