What if Salt Lake City, Utah had a velodrome?  If you are interested in this project contact Mark Kennedy at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

For more information on velodromes, go to www.velodromes.com.

We lack a front window on our building so what if we put some  outdoor poster light boxes, like the ones you see outside of movie theatres, in between our front door and the glass window of the office space north of us show in in this picture.

We could take advantage of this dead space as an eye catching way to annoucement events and programs.

Everything downtown and in the Sugarhouse areas has become expensive to rent and own.  We are fortunate to be in a location that is close to TRAX.  But what if it was more of a destination -- an alternative district?

• If you don't eat meat, the owner of Sage's Cafe, Ian Brandt, is opening a late night vegetarian restaurant called 'The Vertical' three buildings north of our Community Bike Shop on West Temple.
• If you do eat meat, Pat's Barbecue and Catering is a little further north at 155 West Commonwealth Avenue (2125 South) -- the food is awesome.  Better still is that they are turning into an all-ages Blues music venue.  Pat's goal is to keep it all-ages by early shows ending around 9:00pm or 9:30pm; much like events at Red Butte Botanical Gardens.
• The Utah Arts Alliance, is right around the corner at 2191 South 300 West.
  

Contact us to see how you can help this spectacular project...

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"The Utah Transportation Enhancement Program is once again starting another round of selecting applications for Bike & Pedestrian Facilities, Roadway Beautification and preservation of Utah's surface transportation environment and history in our Counties, Cites and Town across the state."

With the hope of utilizing that funding source, the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective has set up a partnership with UTA Rideshare and the Salt Lake City Corporation to design and create a state of the art BikeStation at the up and coming Downtown Intermodal Hub.  This service to the cycling community would be:

1. Another strong reason to declare Salt Lake City a Bicycle Friendly Community.
2. Clearly define the synergy between the bicycle and other public modes of transportation.
3. Keep up with the growing standard of BikeStations across the country.  It is projected that 20 more will finish development in the next 3-5 years.
   

It is of no surprise that the cities who invested in BikeStations, and similar endeavors, are the same ones we think of as being bike and pedestrian friendly.  So this isn't a new idea, it is a proven idea.

Soon, as you probably already know, the Intermodal Hub will be the transportation junction for Salt Lake City.  It will connect the commuter rail from Ogden, existing TRAX, Amtrak, Greyhound, and eventually going a TRAX line to the Airport.  This creates an excellent opportunity to showcase the bicycle as one of the major methods of transportation in Utah.  In fact, the design of the Intermodal Hub has always included a bike facility.  Currently the Intermodal Hub is transitioning ownership from the Salt Lake City Corporation to UTA.

What is the purpose of a BikeStation?

According to bikestation, the purposes are to:

• Improve bicycle and transit linkages
• Provide transportation options
• Encourage alternative commutes
• Improve mobility
• Reduce vehicular emissions and congestion
• Enhance community livability

Thinking BIG:

• Bicycle Check.  Most people are not going to leave their bikes outside for fear of theft of weather, locker or not.  As a result, having an indoor facility under a watchful human eye has always been the ideal.  With peace of mind cyclists would be able to leave their bikes, potentially overnight.

• Showers (& Lockers?).  Not every business put in showers for their employees yet.  This way anyone in the Free Fare Zone, whether they are a cyclist or now, could get to a shower.  This would help the sweaty cyclist, and encourage other activities like the lunch time jog / workout.  In the bigger picture, this promotes healthy active lifestyles.   Perhaps showers could be added as a bonus of the Eco-pass, and companies could purchase shower time for all their employees.
• Bike Maintenance and Repair.  Envision a professional shop facility on the way to and from work.  Not much imagination is needed here, not only would you be able to leave your bike, but also have someone take a look at it, get parts, and fix it when you are at work.  Behind the scenes, this would be a smaller repair facility, which would work closely with nearby shops to provide repair services.
  
• Communting Accesories.  Forget fenders on a rainy day, fear not.  This would only offer the basics for getting around town in a safe and comfortable way.
• Rentals.  Simple rentals of brand new bicycles for tourist or local use.  The collective gets calls all the time asking, "I am in town for a little while, do you rent bikes."  This would be the answer to that question.  Imagine: You just fly into SLC for the first time, take the TRAX line to the Intermodal Hub, and you have the immediate option to not rent a car, but a bicycle.
• Cycling Resources.  Resources and knowledgeable staff to answer common commuter questions, route planning, things to see, maps, etc.  This could also double as a small call center, where people could call for cycling advice.
• Tours.  Dear Tourists: Forget the vans, the best way to experience the sights and sounds of Salt Lake City is by bicycle, from the Intermodal Hub you can take cycling tours or maybe even have a custom tour created for your group.
• Youth Employment. This could also be an excellent opportunity to professionally train and give a skilled job venue to some of Salt Lake City's Youth Employment Programs.  The publicity for using these resources and the good it would do -- just think of the PR implications.
• Jordan River Parkway.  While certainly not the primary focus, there is the potential to position the Cyclist Center as a stop on the Jordan River Parkway for recreational riders.  Either for emergency repairs, mainly flats, or advice.
  

Possible Concerns:

• Location. As it stands today the location of the Intermodal Hub is not a cyclists' destination.  However the completion of this project would coincide with the addition of TRAX, Commuter Rail, and access to the Jordan River Parkway.  Also the Intermodal Hub is slated to be easily accessible to cyclists with proper bike lanes and road considerations.
• Financial Sustainability.  After this funding source runs out, how will it survive?  Historically for-profit bike store would not find ideal profitability, while the small revenue generated by the services (listed above) coupled with additional grant writing would be enough to sustain a non-profit such as the Bicycle Collective.
• Competition with Bike Shops.  We would not be selling new bikes, and realistically we would not have the space to store parts for major repairs, as a result we would actually work with nearby bike stores for major repairs.  Bike rentals and/or tours are currently not done downtown either.  See also Financial Sustainability (above) for other reasons.

Are there any Bikestation® consultants we could use?

Yes, The BikeStation Coalition does.  Here are some of their materials:

{mosdocument=bikestation/MarketingBrochure2006vert.pdf}Marketing Brochure 2006{/mosdocument} 

{mosdocument=bikestation/TopBikestationQuestions.doc}Top BikeStation Questions{/mosdocument} 

{mosdocument=bikestation/BikestationServices.pdf}BikeStation Services{/mosdocument} 

Where in the Intermodal Hub?

Currently there is an unfinished room that is about 68’ wide x 28’ deep called the.
 {mosdocument=bikestation/FutureFoodServicearea.pdf}Food Services Area{/mosdocument} that might work.  That works out to be 1904 sq. ft. 

What are the next steps?

1. Submit our Pre-Registration to the Utah Transportation Enhancements Program by Friday, Dec. 8th.
2. Visit southern California's bikestations.
3. Plan a feasibility and preliminary design study as the first concept development phase.  The second phase would be construction which is pending on the results of the study.
4. Fill out {mosdocument=bikestation/TEApp07.pdf}Final Application{/mosdocument} by Feb. 1st, 2007. 
   

Currently involved:

Andréa White, Executive Director, Bikestation®

DJ Baxtor, Senior Advisor to the Mayor, Salt Lake City Corporation

Jordan Gates, Environmental Advisor to the Mayor, Salt Lake City Corporation

Shaina Miron, Regional Marketing Specialist, UTA Rideshare

Jonathan Morrison, Project Coordinator, Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective

It would be nice to have a Frame Building / Welding shop adjacent to the Community Bike Shop.  These could be seperate organizations or be part of the SLC Bicycle Collective.  In addition to frame building and classes we could also produce recycled bike art like Resource Revival.

Related Links:

UBI Frame Building Courses
Framebuilders Email List
Sheldon Brown's Frame Building Links
Josh Putnam's "Building Bicycle Frames"

 

The largest demographic group in the United States is heading for retirement.  As expected big and small businesses everywhere are trying to capitalize on these aging Baby Boomers.

What if tried to help them instead of make money off them?

Thinking of the retired folks I know, they need friends and ways to maintain and improve their health.  I may be bias, but cycling is an incredible way to meet people and keep in shape mentally and physically.

So how can we effectively reach them?

We should have a monthly newsletter that describes what we have going on in the upcoming month, what we did in the past month and what people can volunteer for.

What if the Bicycle Collective also sold bikes on a consignment basis too?

While the donated bicycles at the Collective are a much better than the bicycles at the D.I. (Deseret Industries), they are not brand new either.  So some folks that come into the community shop with the expectation of a new bike at a used price may be disappointed.

There is always eBay and craigslist, but allowing people to ride the bikes is an added benefit.  It would also increase the spectrum of bikes and parts that are offered at the community shop.  Not to mention, true to the consignment model, the Bicycle Collective would get a percentage.

The only competition to this year round program may be Bike Swaps.  Since they usually happen only one day a year, like the Sports Am Bike Swap in March, it shouldn't conflict every other day during the year when there is no alternative.

What if the Bicycle Collective started a Yellow Bike Program?  For those that are unfamilar, other cities (not just in the USA) have taken inexpensive bikes, painted them an obnoxious color (like yellow) and placed them around the city.  The idea being people who needed to ride, would just get on it, ride to their destination and then leave it there for someone else to do the same.

Articles on this subject:
ibike's Bike Sharing: Case Studies 
UCAN's Yellow Bike Story
Wikipedia's Community bicycle programs

UPDATE: Dasani Blue Bikes Program launched in Provo

What if the Bicycle Collective offered bike rentals?  This could be new bikes, used bikes, or both.

For inside the community shop (maybe even one outside) we had a common bike part vending machine.  If it was outside it could distribute things like tubes and patch kits during our off hours.  But if it was inside, it could help us account for and distrubute bearings, cables, housing, patches, tubes, maybe even tires.