We turn our attention this week to two StreetsWiki entries on how to get new bike racks for your neighborhood. A post originated by the Livable Streets Initiative's own Lily Bernheimer invites wiki users to submit info on prime potential locations "so that requests may be submitted to the NYCDOT in a more organized and pre-vetted fashion," while Lauri Schindler offers advice from the Park Slope Civic Council on how to place a bulk request with DOT.
The step-by-step process involves outreach to both the city and the neighborhood. As Schindler writes:
Ourapproach shifted some of the legwork from the DOT to the community, andas a result our request moved through the process rather quickly. Yourneighborhood can do it too.
There is incredibly high demand for CityRacks these days around the city, so the more organized you are, the better. Understand that there may be a delay of several months before the racks are installed, especially during the warm season, but once you see orange dots at the proposed locations, racks will follow.
With makeshift bike racks in the form of parking meters rapidly disappearing and the possibility of more post-doomsday riders hitting the streets, demand isn't likely to drop anytime soon. Wonder if some of that stimulus cash could help hire more CityRacks installers.
