Street Furniture as bike parking

In general I like the new multi-space meters the city is installing and I understand the value. I don't understand why we're paying money to remove the old meters, and then more money to install formal bike parking at a slower pace when the old meter posts can be much more easily converted to bike parking. I'm talking DC here - Arlington seems to get it. I mentioned that Tommy Wells supported conversion in Capitol Hill, but that the local business groups were opposed - I can only hope that Capitol Hill Bikes was a dissenter.

I also don't get why the multispace meters don't have little loops on the back side, or half loops on both sides, where a bike could be locked. In fact more street furniture could be designed with bike parking in mind, including but not limited to trash cans, tree guards, streetlight poles, benches, the ubiquitous bollards, etc...

Speaking of bike parking, there's plenty of parking (and demand) at the new Vienna Town Green, the new park located adjacent to the W&OD Trail on Maple Ave (Route 123) in downtown Vienna.

While I'm on ideas, it's time for kryptonite to start issuing colored keys (or little swaths to put over them) so that I can tell them apart. I finally bought colored duct tape and put a piece on each key/lock combo so that they're the same color.

Comments

[Ian]

I use nail varnish from my significant other for the purpose of telling the keys apart. A little blob on the key where it meets the plastic does the trick.

[Lee Watkins]

tree guards that park bikes, like these? http://www.flickr.com/photos/16nine/2463994772/in/photostream/

[washcycle]

Yeah, although in the comments someone calls them "rim killers" but then Zakkaliciousness (who runs http://www.copenhagencyclechic.com/ ) defends them. I'll trust Zack.

The Vienna Town Green is at best a mixed blessing for cyclists. There are indeed bike racks. But the Town Council opposes construction of a bridge or tunnel to replace the level crossing at Maple Ave. The Mayor's stated concern is that a bridge would make it impossible for cyclists to access the Town Green. This must be a variant of the old line, "You can't get there from here."