Streets for People / Know a Good Spot for Bicycle Parking? There’s An App for That

Ever get to your favorite bar, restaurant or destination and wonder why there is no bike rack there? Or perhaps the rack in front of where you work is always full. Maybe you own or work at a local Mom & Pop Shop and want to attract more customers realizing for every car parking space in front, you could instead have 12 bike parking spaces. More shoppers = ka-ching! Possibly the building you live in has Residential Permit car parking spaces on the street, but nary a bike rack in sight. Or it could be that you are just tired of all the bikes on a certain block being locked up to trees, poles, and fences. Well, did you know, there’s an app to request bicycle parking?

It’s part of the City’s “Key West Connect” app available for Apple and Android devices and usable as a web interface too. And if you just take a few minutes and use it, you’ll be helping the City get their increasing inventory of bike parking on our streets more quickly and in the right places. Everybody wins.

The City’s Is Indeed Installing More Racks and You Can Help Direct Where They Go

If you follow the City’s official government and Car-Free Key West Facebook pages, you may have noticed a pattern over the last year plus as they post almost monthly a nice picture of a newly installed bike rack or even a bike corral (series of racks on rails). In 2022 they installed 125 parking spaces. In 2023 that jumped to 454 as it includes 136 that were funded by a “Final Mile” grant to upgrade all Lower Keys Shuttle bus stops. So far in 2024 they’ve installed 75 spaces and hope to install another 100 including both post and loop style and the larger racks on rails. About a quarter of the installs are replacements with the majority being additional capacity, which now brings the total number of City provided bicycle parking spaces to 3,337. And while the City assesses the needs on the street, Multi-Modal Coordinator Ryan Stachurski tell us that requests from citizens help them make better decisions about where to install them and the locations are more likely to be prioritized and go in sooner as a result of a request.

Report Abandoned Bikes and Damaged Bike Racks Too

Key West Connect also allows you to let the City know about abandoned bikes and damaged bike racks. Everyone wins when abandoned bikes are removed and a mangled or vandalized bike rack is repaired.

How To Use Key West Connect

The City’s Key West Connect app (powered by SeeClickFix) helps residents reach the City online or via their smartphone or tablet to request services or help fix issues. You can use it for trash, recycling, yard waste, potholes, sidewalk issues, lights, trees, signs, code compliance and more. And for people on bikes you can Request a Bicycle Rack, Report an Abandoned Bicycle or Report Maintenance on a Bicycle Rack.

On Apple devices you can download the free app at the Apple App Store or on an Android device download it at the Google Play Store. From the app:

  • Go to the bottom and hit the + sign that says, “New Request.”
  • Next, you’ll be asked to share a picture or not.
  • Then you’ll choose a location on the map. There’s an X in the middle so simply move the map to the desired location. The top window should show the address.
  • Hit the next button at the top and now choose your category – the are listed alphabetically so Abandoned Bicycle, Bicycle Rack Maintenance and Bicycle Rack Request are right at the top.
  • On the last screen you’ll see your picture, if you uploaded one – highly recommended, and you can then add additional text information and a rationale.
  • Hit submit at the top right and you’re done!

At the bottom of the app is a “Requests” button. This is where you can see other requests and issues people have submitted. You can also create a profile and do much more.

Key West Connect Video https://youtu.be/W_Yaz0jjKLw?si=zGGotmyFMlQ-1lfN

Crowded Downtown Sidewalks Should Be for People – So Be Specific and Request a Bike Corral in a Car Parking Space

Many of the recent bicycle parking installs, at least if the pictures posted on Facebook are an accurate depiction, have been put on sidewalks. As we’ve documented, our mostly narrow downtown sidewalks are already overcrowded with people. And in some spaces with chairs and tables. Our good friend and chronicler of the Key West condition via Key West Island News Linda Grist Cunningham has made similar observations that sidewalks should be for people.

Why are we putting bike parking and tables and chairs along with signs, newspaper boxes, and poles on our narrow sidewalks and making an overcrowded situation worse? Because we seem to value private car storage for the few over pleasant walking space for the many. As we put in more bike parking, we should insist it go in the street in bike corrals and you should please say so in your request.

Let’s Put More Parking In Bike Corrals On the Streets In Predictable Places

A bike corral can accommodate 12 bikes in the space of 1 car. We’ve made the case that not only should bike parking be in the street, but that along the entire length of Duval it should be located in the first car parking space in each cross street. And the next space should be for scooters. The consistency attracts users, and it helps intersection sight lines. This isn’t some crazy bike advocates’ idea. This is actually the idea of the City’s Parking Director. We’ve noticed a few like this but could use way more.

Every retail shop or group of shops all over Old Town should have an in-street bike corral and scooter parking right out front or adjacent to it. We’d fit 12 bikes and 6 scooters in the space of 2 cars. That’s a win for everyone and good for business. So again, when you Request Bicycle Parking, please be specific. Let the City know where there’s a good car-parking space to replace with bike parking.

When We Make It Easier to Bike, Our Island Wins

Having a safe and reliable place to park your bicycle at work, shopping and play makes it easier and thus more likely more of us will use a bike to get around instead of driving a car. That helps fight traffic and parking congestion, improves our environment, makes us healthier, makes our historic downtown more prosperous for Mom and Pop Shops, and yes, makes us happier too. It makes our little island more like the paradise it should be. We all win when we make it easier to bike!

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Chris Hamilton is founder of the local advocacy group Friends of Car-Free Key West & Duval Street/Historic Downtown. Subscribe to the blog. Follow on Facebook and Twitter. Support ($) its local journalism here. A native of the District of Columbia, where for a couple decades+ he led nationally renowned efforts promoting transit, bike, walk and smart growth for Arlington County, VA’s DOT. Chris has lived in Key West since 2015. He lives car-free downtown and works and volunteers for a few non-profits. You can find three years’ worth of KONK Life Streets for People column articles here and here.

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