Bike Racks & Parking Meters

New York City is offering a bike parking/ street meter upgrade worth emulating.

200+ meters will have their heads removed and refitted with a circular bike rack that slides over the pole. The solution is cheaper than ripping up the sidewalk in order to remove the poles or place new dedicated bike racks. A rack to lock two bikes would correspond with each on-street parking space for a car.

Motorists would pay for their parking at pay stations at the end of the block. I’m assuming this is similar to the pay stations in our city garages where you bring your number to the station, select your time and pay. Pay stations usually accept credit & debit cards, so the time allotted for you to park would no longer be contingent on the change stuck to the bottom of your cup holder. While it would force the driver into a short walk to the pay station in place of paying right at their space, there could also be an overall convenience. If all the downtown pay stations were integrated wirelessly, a person could add additional time to their meter from any pay station in the area. Imagine you could park your car in the Summer St garage to see a movie, walk to Bedford St for diner afterwards, and simply add time at a pay station on the street if you decide to stay longer for a drink at a pub. This system would increase the convenience of leaving one’s car in one location for a multiple stops on a trip downtown and not punish someone for wanting to stay longer by forcing a truncated visit, a walk back to the meter, or an orange love letter from the city waiting under the wiper.