As some of you may know. Urban Neighbors and Downtown OKC Inc. received a grant to use on recreation projects east of the Broadway RR tracks. UN partnered with DOKC to receive additional funding and assistance. Weather permitting, all the bike racks should be installed by end of September. I will be posting more details very soon.

In the meantime, I wanted to post a little eye-candy for you. Here is the art-rack local artist Stan Carol did for U.N. It will be placed on the South-side of the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3244/2783315012_e9da65b109.jpg?v=0

It will be installed in between the trees in this pic along with several other standard racks on both sides of the "Rack Up" art rack.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3173/2782470055_c648f7c426.jpg?v=0

Additionally, there will be approximately 30 inverted "U" shaped racks installed throughout east downtown in the next few weeks.

Now we just need more people on bikes!

speaking of bikes, has anyone ever participated in a Critical Mass?

Also, we are doing a community bike ride to break in the new bike racks and encourage bicycling in downtown. There is a great article on this project in the current issue of the City Sentinel that hits racks (pun intended) today and tomorrow.

Group rolling out bike racks
Journal Record
August 21, 2008

OKLAHOMA CITY – Pedaling a bicycle around town for health or gasoline savings loses its appeal once the rider realizes he’s got nowhere to park his bike, Jeff Bezdek said.

The Urban Neighbors downtown neighborhood association, of which Bezdek is a member, is working to solve that problem and help reinforce a sense of community in the city’s core by installing dozens of specially designed bike racks downtown. The first is expected to be installed this weekend.

“There are a lot of people who already live and work downtown, and the confluence of the city’s bike trail master plan is expected to bring more – all roads lead to downtown in that plan,” he said. “So we think ridership is on a steady increase as downtown becomes more accessible. … Bike racks are important to that development because there are a limited number of places where you can safely leave your bike. You can’t lock up to a parking meter, for example.”

Bezdek stressed that Urban Neighbors is a true neighborhood association, not just a group working on general tourism or economic development. The bike rack project coincides with the association’s first anniversary. “We’re like any other neighborhood association, except that we’re tasked with certain unusual issues because we’re downtown,” he said. “We’re tasked with improving the quality of life downtown. Because of our density environment, we are challenged to develop our pedestrian infrastructure. Installing these racks is a direct improvement that will make it more enjoyable and a safer place to participate as a pedestrian.”

The bike racks were funded through a $20,000 Oklahoma City government grant and the group partnered with Downtown OKC Inc. to raise more funds. Bezdek said the association’s window of opportunity was closing quickly to get the racks; the grant money had to be allocated before the end of the month or be lost. But private donations will still be accepted for additional work.

The grant money was split between two rack designs. The first, which Bezdek refers to as the standard design, is a large, metal spiral that lies on its side and connects to form a complete circle. Bikes fit between the coils.“They were designed specifically for Oklahoma City,” he said. “You really won’t see them anywhere else. People will easily recognize that design as something unique to the area.” The other half of the money has gone to individually designed racks with more artistic flair. The Bricktown Urban Design Commission recently approved the first one, which will be installed at the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark on Reno Avenue. Riders will be able to park their bikes among the stand-up, capital letters, “RACK UP,” which is a reference to Downtown OKC’s “Looking Up” promotion.

The architect for the racks is Stan Carroll at Beyond Metal in Oklahoma City. Carroll has worked on several local projects, including the renovation of the MidContinent Life Building and the design of the Momentum Conference Room, 111N. Harrison, which was recognized last year by the American Institute of Architects. The racks are expected to be installed over the next few months, he said.

http://journalrecord.com/article.cfm?recid=91527

Nice work, U.N.

The racks look amazing. Where are they scheduled to be installed?

East of the Broadway R.R. tracks. I can't give exact locations at this moment, but the press will hopefully be covering the topic more soon.

Downtown OKC, Urban Neighbors announce bicycle rack system
OKC Business
9/5/2008

Downtown Oklahoma City Inc. and Urban Neighbors announced today they will introduce a bicycle rack system Sept. 10 along with Mayor Mick Cornett.
Rack UP! includes 35 bike racks throughout the east part of Downtown Oklahoma City.

A $20,000 Neighborhood Partnership Grant funded the program sponsored by the City of Oklahoma City to help qualifying neighborhoods create beautification or safety projects. Neighborhoods must prove they can work cooperatively with City of Oklahoma City on requirements such as permitting needs and handle the financial accountability in order to receive the funds.

“Urban Neighbors and Downtown OKC feel strongly about creating a safe, accommodating environment for people to live in and visit,” said program coordinators Mark Gibbs and Jessica Gonzalez in a statement. “By combining forces, we funded and implemented a bike rack project that will benefit the residents of downtown as well as all citizens of OKC.”


Each rack provides secure parking for two bicycles. Dan Garrett with Froggy Bottom Iron Works designed the 34 regular racks. Stan Carroll of Beyond Metal created a functioning art rack for the south side of the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark that displays the name of the project.

Metro Transit recently installed bike racks on all Oklahoma City buses and trolleys making it convenient for riders to transport their bikes anywhere in the city.

I saw bike racks being installed at the Java Daves on 10th and Broadway yesterday.

Yep, and we have the art rack installed now on the southside of the ballpark as well.

Now we just need more people on bikes!

speaking of bikes, has anyone ever participated in a Critical Mass?

Yes. There is a group in Stillwater. Pretty cool deal when done right.

Critical Mass - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_Mass)

I've witnessed the Critical Mass rides in San Francisco. Last year's was on Halloween weekend, and several took the opportunity to flaunt their favorite costume, or non-costume, as it were. Interesting, to say the least. My guess is the Oklahoma version would be, shall we say, more subdued?

Functional street art in Oklahoma City that promotes a healthy lifestyle! It doesn't get much better than that.

Drove by the south side of the ball park an hour ago and saw the new bike racks. I must say they are very impressive. Keep up the good work!

Yep. Thanks. They officially "launch" tomorrow with Mayor Mick Cornett doing the inaugural "ride" down the Finley bridge. Here is the art rack:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3161/2840391623_53d8ba7f7b.jpg?v=0

That wall of the Brick needs something. More of those mosaics, maybe?

a couple of mosaic buffalo would look nice right about there
(ducks)

There's a pic online but I don't know how to download it to OKCTalk from the Oklahoman.

Downtown Oklahoma City sees new 'cycle' in business

By Steve Lackmeyer
Business Writer

If there's any question about the dozens of new black pieces of steel popping up downtown, one particular new installation says it all: "RACK UP!”
Bicycling is taking off downtown, so racks are being installed in some of the hottest emerging business districts.
The 35 racks, most of them unveiled Tuesday by Urban Neighbors, are being installed in Automobile Alley, Deep Deuce, Bricktown and Lower Bricktown.

Terry Enos, owner of Bicycle Alley, said business has been brisk since his bike shop opened two years ago.

"Couples are coming in now saying they want to ride together going to the grocery,” Enos said. "Every time I tell someone about these (the racks), they say it's about time Oklahoma City has done something like this. I think we'll see urbanites using them all the time.”

Mark Gibbs, coordinator of the effort and secretary with Urban Neighbors, said the racks were custom-designed to be visually appealing, functional and durable and are unique to Oklahoma City. The "standard” racks were designed by Dan Garrett and his Froggy Bottom Iron Works and are coated with polyurea — the same surface used to create scratch-proof pick-up bed liners.


A durable solution
"It's very durable and it has a bit of give,” Gibbs said. "It's very hard to scratch the bike or the rack. If you look at other bike racks, you'll see metal on metal scratches. People who have $1,000 bikes don't want to have them scratched up.”
The marquee "RACK UP!” rack in front of the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark, meanwhile, was designed by award-winning architect and artist Stan Carroll.

Urban Neighors, an association of residents and business owners, coordinated the project with Downtown Oklahoma City Inc. Gibbs said the racks were identified as one of the most pressing needs for downtown's growing residential population.


‘Feeling safer on bicycles'
Enos credits a "changing dynamic” not just downtown, but throughout the city, for an increased interest in bicycling.
"There is more to do — people are wanting to get around, go to the restaurants and places around town,” Enos said. "And they are feeling safer on bicycles.”

Enos also credits an ongoing health campaign led by Mayor Mick Cornett and noted his own landlord, Steve Mason, wanted a bicycle shop on the first floor of his building to encourage bicycling among his Cardinal Engineering employees upstairs.

"I'm seeing an increase in people wanting to get some exercise,” Enos said. "There is a tone in Oklahoma City that exercise is good.”

The racks also are designed to be a source of pride, Gibbs said.

Gibbs' group has spent months on not just creating a unique design, but also finding installation spots that would be seen as safe by bicyclists and yet not impeding pedestrian traffic. The racks were funded through a $20,000 Neighborhood Partnership Grant sponsored by Oklahoma City that was matched through cash and in-kind donations by Urban Neighbors.

Gibbs said he expects more racks will be added in the near future. Urban Neighbors is already fielding requests to allow the rack designs to be used elsewhere downtown.

Metro, I think you're going to need to go out and buy a lot of newspapers.
;)

haha very funny

I am glad we are getting the racks, and they look very cool and modern. Now, if the city could only work on getting the infrastructure so that people like me who live close to downtown could ride safely! I'd ride everyday if I could figure out a safe way to get from south of the river to downtown, without dying. I've ridden twice into the downtown, and quite frankly, I took my life into my own hands! Cars don't understand that you have the right of way, but the city buses are the worst. It's as though they try to run you off the rode! I've lived all over the world, and I can't believe how hard getting bike trails that actually are used for transportation instead of just leisure seem to be! Norman is much better, but then they have the traffic problems that necessitated bike trails to cut down the number of cars.

Anyone else have problems riding into the downtown?

City Sentinel Online | OKC Downtown & Bricktown's Favorite Weekly Newspaper - Parking meter, shmarking meter — (http://city-sentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=985&Itemid=1)

Parking meter, shmarking meter — Tuesday, 16 September 2008
Bike parking now plentiful in Bricktown
By Rod Jones

There’s a new alternative for those who complain about parking in Bricktown. A ceremony held last week in a parking lot along Mickey Mantle Drive showed just how easy it is to not only get around bumper-to bumper traffic issues, but also to quickly and easily find an open parking space — for free.

The answer is bicycles. The Urban Neighbors (U.N.) downtown neighborhood association held an opening ceremony for its new bicycle racks located all around the Bricktown area. Through grants and elbow grease, the U.N. was able to install 35 racks, each capable of hosting two bicycles simultaneously, as far north as Java Dave’s on Northeast 10th Street all the way down to the Land Run monument south of lower Bricktown.
Dan Garrett of Froggy Bottom Iron Works designed the racks to be unique to Oklahoma City. They were locally made and feature a black spongy coating that helps prohibit scratching bicycle finishes.
A bonus artistic, two-piece rack south of the Ballpark that spells out the words “RACK UP!” was designed by Stan Carroll of Beyond Metal.
“We’re here in an unlikely neighborhood in downtown Oklahoma City that 10 years ago, probably only a handful of people called home,” said Georgie Rasco, executive director of Neighborhood Alliance. “But today, thousands of people not only work down here and come down here to play and entertain themselves, they also call this place home.”

Read the rest of this story in the September 17 issue of The City Sentinel


http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll226/Tendollarrod/BikeRacks-1.jpg
The 'RACK UP!' bicycle rack sits south of the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark on Reno Avenue and features a special coating that helps prevent scratching bike finish. The rack was designed by Stan Carroll of Beyond Metal, which also had a hand in the recently unveiled 'SkyDance Bridge' pedestrian crossing planned as part of the city's Core to Shore project, and the public art sculpture 'Triangle' in Maywood Park near the Brownstones.

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll226/Tendollarrod/BikeRacksAntique.jpg
Tuesday, 16 September 2008


The 'RACK UP!' bicycle rack sits south of the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark on Reno Avenue and features a special coating that helps prevent scratching bike finish. The rack was designed by Stan Carroll of Beyond Metal, which also had a hand in the recently unveiled 'SkyDance Bridge' pedestrian crossing planned as part of the city's Core to Shore project, and the public art sculpture 'Triangle' in Maywood Park near the Brownstones.


Bike parking now plentiful in Bricktown
By Rod Jones

There’s a new alternative for those who complain about parking in Bricktown. A ceremony held last week in a parking lot along Mickey Mantle Drive showed just how easy it is to not only get around bumper-to bumper traffic issues, but also to quickly and easily find an open parking space — for free.

The answer is bicycles. The Urban Neighbors (U.N.) downtown neighborhood association held an opening ceremony for its new bicycle racks located all around the Bricktown area. Through grants and elbow grease, the U.N. was able to install 35 racks, each capable of hosting two bicycles simultaneously, as far north as Java Dave’s on Northeast 10th Street all the way down to the Land Run monument south of lower Bricktown.
Dan Garrett of Froggy Bottom Iron Works designed the racks to be unique to Oklahoma City. They were locally made and feature a black spongy coating that helps prohibit scratching bicycle finishes.
A bonus artistic, two-piece rack south of the Ballpark that spells out the words “RACK UP!” was designed by Stan Carroll of Beyond Metal.
“We’re here in an unlikely neighborhood in downtown Oklahoma City that 10 years ago, probably only a handful of people called home,” said Georgie Rasco, executive director of Neighborhood Alliance. “But today, thousands of people not only work down here and come down here to play and entertain themselves, they also call this place home.”

Read the rest of this story in the September 17 issue of The City Sentinel



Top: Mickey Kalman of Guthrie shows how easy it is to use the new bicycle racks at the corner of Sheridan Avenue and Mickey Mantle Drive, even if the wheel is taller than the rack

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll226/Tendollarrod/BikeRacksDemo.jpg
Above: Steven Newlon of Urban Neighbors parks his bike at the new racks between the Mantle restaurant and Tapwerks in Bricktown after riding across the Walnut Avenue bridge during an unveiling ceremony last week.

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll226/Tendollarrod/BikeRacksRide.jpg
Cyclists ride down the Walnut Avenue bridge into Bricktown last week during th unveiling ceremony for new bicycle racks.