Cleveland Heights installs new bike racks on parking meters around town

Meter rings, such as this one on Coventry Road, provide secure, convenient parking for bicyclists. Photo by Deanna Bremer Fisher.

The City of Cleveland Heights has added more parking in several city business districts, but don’t go looking for expensive new parking lots or garages. You won’t find them. Instead, the city has enhanced parking for bicycles in the form of small attachments to parking meters, called meter rings.

Richard Wong, planning director for the City of Cleveland Heights, purchased 25 meter rings—at a total cost of $1,938—and has had them installed on meters in several business districts. “A planning colleague in Indianapolis had installed them and vouched for the product,” said Wong. “I like them because meters are right in front so that a bicyclist can see her or his bike. The ring’s height and shape make it easy to lock the back wheel and frame using a U-shaped lock. Many racks don’t have these attributes.”

Wong said he plans to purchase at least 10 more meter rings and will purchase more if public response is positive.

“I just tried one for the first time the other day—the one in front of Phoenix on Lee,” said Mary Dunbar, Cleveland Heights City Council member and president of the Heights Bicycle Coalition (HBC). “It worked great. Being right in front of the shop, I could keep an eye on my bike, not that I worry about anyone taking it—it's an old warhorse.” Dunbar said her only concern was that some people might think that they have to feed the meter when parking their bicycles. “As a member of city council, I can assure everyone that that is not the case,” she said.

Wong said that Mayor Ed Kelley had asked him to initiate a program to enhance bicycle parking in the city this year. “Council Member Mary Dunbar got the city involved in the League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Friendly Community designation, and it specifically calls for ‘readily available bike parking,’” said Wong. “Mary and HBC member Ian Hoffman met with me and offered assistance.”

“The bottom line,” said Dunbar, “is that these devices can be easily placed in convenient locations, are relatively inexpensive and easy to install, and provide good security, especially because they allow cyclists to put their bikes where the bikes can be seen by the bicyclist or others.”

Wong said he is also investigating places for conventional bicycle racks on public property. Requests for racks at private businesses are forwarded to those businesses, he said. “The zoning code was amended this year to encourage what is known as “active transportation,” which would be bicycling and walking.”

Wong has also purchased eight U-shaped racks from Metro Metalworks that will be placed in city business districts at a cost of $140 each, installed. “Not all locations have been chosen yet,” he said. “Locations at Cedar Lee, Cedar Fairmount, Cedar Taylor and Noble Nela are planned so far.”

Wong said that the city is working with University Circle on two planning studies to increase the number of people walking, taking public transit or bicycling between Cleveland Heights and University Circle. “Bicyclists hopefully will appreciate the new parking facilities and be encouraged to frequent the districts on bike,” he said.

“The city has completed Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative studies in the Cedar Fairmount and Cedar Lee business districts,” said Wong. “As a result of the studies, the city has requested streetscape funding from NOACA that will include bike racks, and various striping and paving measures to make bicycling easier.”

In June, HBC posted a survey on its website asking for input on bike racks in Cleveland Heights and University Heights. HBC, the Sustainable Heights Network, the Heights Observer and Cleveland Heights Patch promoted the survey, and 30 people responded.

“Getting more bike racks around town is a top goal of HBC's engineering committee,” said Dunbar. “We are delighted with the progress Cleveland Heights is making. Having bike racks where bicyclists want to go is an important piece of the infrastructure our city needs to become more bicycle friendly and to encourage people to use their bicycles to get around town.”

Deanna Bremer Fisher

Deanna Bremer Fisher is executive director of FutureHeights and publisher of the Heights Observer.

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Volume 5, Issue 11, Posted 2:39 PM, 10.30.2012