Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Bicycle Parking

Starting the School Day Off at the Bike Corral

Photo: Ben Fried

It was ribbon-cutting day at P.S. 118 on Seventh Street in Park Slope this morning, as parents and students at this pre-K/elementary school broke in their brand new bike corral. By 8:15 a.m., the racks were mostly full.

When DOT installed the bike corral a week ago, it solved some longstanding storage issues at P.S. 118. Because kids were tripping on bikes and scooters that piled up in the school yard, the school banned them in 2015. DOT installed sidewalk racks in time for the 2016/2017 school year, but they were on a narrow sidewalk next to busy Fourth Avenue, not by the main drop-off location on calmer Seventh Street.

Doug Gordon (a.k.a. Brooklyn Spoke, the grown-up in the top photo), whose two children attend P.S. 118, started working with the PTA and the school administration to get an on-street corral for Seventh Street.

"My daughter, who was in second grade at the time, was excited about the idea so she and her friends took on the task of gathering petition signatures from kids, parents, school staff, and neighborhood residents," he said in an email. "DOT finally came to present the plan to the transportation and public safety committee of [Community Board 6] in March and it was approved unanimously."

Parents and students at any school can apply to the city for a bike corral. DOT requires a maintenance partner to clear debris and snow around the bike corral, and to report anything that needs fixing. At P.S. 118, the PTA is the maintenance partner.

The bike corral has made it easier for Delia Awusi to walk her two sons to school with their scooters. During the bike ban, she ended up lugging the scooters back to their home on 13th Street after dropping the kids off.

Kids at the school are young enough to ride legally on the sidewalk. With a protected bike lane coming to Fourth Avenue in the next few years (and the school expanding to fifth grade), the route could get safe enough for older students to ride on the street.

For now, the bike corral has given the students a place to keep their rides in the same place grown-ups put their cars, leaving the sidewalk for the walk to school.

Photo: Ben Fried
Photo: Ben Fried
Photo: Ben Fried

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Who’s Your Train Daddy? Penn Station Boss Andy Byford All But Solicits Bribe For Donald Trump

Andy Byford is back in New York to build a shiny new Penn Station, but he's already admitted he's not the guy in charge.

October 22, 2025

HEAVY TRAFFIC: Driving Continues to Rise, Undermining Literally Every Effort to Make the City Better

The trend of increased vehicle miles traveled undermines safety initiatives, pollution reduction efforts and the traffic mitigation of congestion pricing, a new report makes clear.

October 22, 2025

StreetsPAC: Vote Mamdani For Mayor

StreetsPAC has spoken: here is the group's endorsements for New York City's upcoming general election.

October 22, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines: When ICE Came to Canal Street

Federal agents swarmed all over the blocks around our office on Tuesday, so we went outside and covered it. Plus other news.

October 22, 2025

Redesign for Brooklyn’s Fifth Ave. Shopping Strip Puts Customers First

"The core takeaway from the small business community on this strip is that they want a pedestrian- and transit-priority street," said the architect.

October 22, 2025

Chinatown Plaza Redesign A Good First Step, But City Must Go Bigger

Almost everyone walks through Kimlau Square – even though most of the space is for cars.

October 22, 2025
See all posts