There’s Often Parking for Cars, Not for Bikes. That’s Where Bike Valets Come In.
(Source: Strong Towns Grand Rapids.)
Strong Towns has previously spotlighted Springville, Utah, resident Jonathan Duncan’s daily bike pool. Some years ago, Duncan decided to escort his kids—and others in the neighborhood—to school by bike. Since then, some have aged out of the bike pool, others have aged in, and the rides are still going strong. “Kids love the idea of getting themselves places and not needing to rely on their parents and parents love the sudden freedom they find when they no longer have to fight the lines to drop their kids off in the car,” he shared. “The children are empowered; the parents are liberated.”
Kids enjoying a bike ride to school together in Springville, Utah. (Source: Jonathan Duncan.)
By focusing on children, Duncan’s hope was that the next generation would reach for two wheels more readily. And if that generation were to bike regularly, they would need infrastructure that makes it safe and convenient. They’d not only benefit from designated bike lanes; need a place to park their bike
Biking to Springville’s farmer’s market, located in the city center park, is possible, yet unpopular. Duncan recognized that not having a secure and reliable place to store a bike—the way one could with their car—could be hindering prospective market-goers from choosing two wheels. After identifying the culprit, he took the next smallest step and organized a “bike valet.”
“We set up a booth with some bike racks and manned it with volunteers,” Duncan said. “Even people who did not have bicycles would come and talk to us, providing us opportunities to have conversations about things we care about.”
His bike valet is one of several popping up across the country. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, Local Conversation leaders partnered with their local bicycle coalition to organize and staff a bike valet for Food Truck Fridays. The recurring community event took place in Riverside Park, a popular destination for hikers and bikers, yet offering almost no place for the latter to store their preferred mode of transportation.
“There is not normally bike parking anywhere near the event, short of 3 small single-bike racks,” one member of Strong Towns Grand Rapids shared. “So people were locking their bikes to trees or just walking around with them at the event.”
(Source: Strong Towns Grand Rapids.)
In the case of both Springville and Grand Rapids, an observation turned into a conversation which evolved into action. The resultant bike valets not only offered people the opportunity to safely store their wheels while browsing what their city had to offer, but provided a space for the community to reflect on where the city could improve.
Across the country, hundreds of Local Conversations are engaging in the same dialogue, channeling their love for where they live through a vision for how to make it even better. In fact, there are probably Strong Towns advocates near you eager to put Strong Towns principles into action where you live. Why not join them?
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Asia (pronounced “ah-sha”) Mieleszko serves as a Staff Writer for Strong Towns. A dilettante urbanist since adolescence, she's excited to convert a lifetime of ad-hoc volunteerism into a career. Her unconventional background includes directing a Ukrainian folk choir, pioneering synaesthetic performances, photographing festivals, designing websites, teaching, and ghostwriting. She can be found wherever Wi-Fi is reliable, typically along Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.