New Bike Racks In Downtown Bozeman

On June 23, 2011, the Downtown Partnership installed three bike stall racks near Main Street to greatly increase the bike parking capacity for the summer season.

Each bike stall occupies one vehicle parking space, thus allowing up to 15 bikes to park in place of a single car. The bike stalls are blue and feature custom signs that correspond to the larger effort to brand all types of downtown parking facilities.

“In the last few years, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of customers and employees riding bikes to and from downtown.  From late May until mid-October the bike racks along Main Street are at capacity and bikes are locked to the tree grates, street lamps, and sign posts.  We need to provide additional bike racks to meet the demand,” said Chris Naumann, Executive Director of the Downtown Partnership.

Expanded bike parking options have become a key component to holistic transportation planning as more and more communities adopt “complete streets” policies that place a higher priority on pedestrians and cyclists than traditional vehicle-centric models.

Naumann notes, “On-street bike stall racks have been used for years in places like Denver, Portland and Seattle.  Smaller communities are employing the same method to provide more bike parking in places with limited space like downtown.”

The bike stalls will be removed in October for the winter and reinstalled each spring.