(Photo by Eric Iverson)
Our bike parking coverage is sponsored by Huntco, a Portland-based maker and seller of bike racks and other industrial furnishings.
Portlanders who bike have granted the wish of a local business.
Base Camp Brewing now has a shiny new on-street bike corral in front of its brewpub on SE Oak and has become the latest example of bikenomics and bike-oriented development in Portland.
Last month the co-founder of the brewery, Ross Putnam, said he’d personally buy a pint for everyone who showed up by bike. It wasn’t a random promotional stunt, it was done specifically to demonstrate demand for bike parking.
Like hundreds of other Portland businesses, Putnam had done the math and realized having more bike parking would mean more — and happier — customers. He asked the Portland Bureau of Transportation if he could swap two auto parking spaces for 18 bike parking spaces. Yes, the city said, but he’d have to prove the demand was there by sharing photos of bikes parked on the sidewalk and to non-sanctioned structures like trees and traffic poles.
It worked.
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(Photo by Ross Putnam)
Over 50 people answered the call and the sidewalk outside Base Camp was jam-packed with bikes. And PBOT responded quickly as well. 13 days after his beer-for-biking Facebook post the city began installing the new corral.
“We are so psyched the corral was installed just in time for summer!” Putnam shared with us this morning. “It is in a great location for folks to kick back on the patio, enjoy a beer and be able to keep a close eye on their bikes.”
Putnam says parking space is at a premium in inner southeast these days. He’s grateful for PBOT’s quick response and says it’s likely he’ll need even more bike parking in the future.
Nice work team! Now… Any other business out there want a bike corral?
— Jonathan Maus, (503) 706-8804 – jonathan@bikeportland.org
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