Bike corrals will be installed in Six Corners shopping district
by BRIAN NADIG
Four bike corrals will be installed in the Six Corners shopping district due to the efforts of the Six Corners Association.
Area resident Michael Flaherty usually locks his bicycle to one of the U-shaped bike racks in the area, but the Six Corners Association says that there are not enough of those racks. "Walk around the Six Corners district, and there are bikes tied to trees, light poles," association assistant program director Kelli Weffenstette said.
Working with Flaherty and other volunteers, the association recently raised $10,000 for the purchase of three bike corrals, each of which can accommodate 10 to 12 bicycles. The corral manufacturer, the Saris Cycling Group, is donating a fourth corral.
Flaherty said that volunteers wrote letters to local businesses asking for donations and that requests for donations also were made through social media and on the Web site www.gofundme.com.
Each of the corrals will take up one parking space and will remain bolted to the street for the entire year, as the city will remove snow from the corrals, Weffenstette. The planned locations are at 4018 N. Cicero Ave., 4015 N. Milwaukee Ave., 4839 W. Irving Park Road and an undetermined location on Milwaukee Avenue east of Cicero Avenue.
Earlier this year the City Council approved ordinances lifting the rush-hour parking bans on Milwaukee and on Cicero in the shopping district, clearing the way for the corrals to be installed. Signs prohibiting parking are expected to be removed, Weffenstette said.
The businesses which are adjacent to the corral locations have approved the project, Weffenstette said. "Studies show that those who bike or walk spend more time in local businesses, as they don’t have to worry about paying a meter," she said.
Because some additional business owners have expressed interest in having a corral installed on their block, the association may investigate expanding the program, Weffenstette said.
More than 20 new businesses, including several restaurants, are expected to open this year at Six Corners, Weffenstette said.
