Bicycle Racks as Art

Bicycles Part 2: I'm still thinking about bikes and cutting down the number of cars, whether its on campuses or encouraging commuter cycling to workplaces. The increased interest in bike power, correlates to an increased demand for safe places to lock up two-wheelers.

New York City was already on the task, when it held a bike rack design contest this past summer. Guidelines and information for the competition appear on the contest web site, nycityracks.wordpress.com. The city received over 200 entries from more than 24 states and 26 countries. Ten finalists were selected and their prototypes were installed at Astor Place. The public was invited to view them and share their comments on the future street furniture.

Musician, artist, and blogging cyclist, David Byrne, entered his own bike parking designs. Although his designs weren't entered as part of the contest, he did participate as a judge. His gallery, PaceWildenstein, offered to produce his designs for the city to try out for a year. They appear in the photos above.

New York City has installed nine new bike racks designed by David Byrne. Top row, left to right: MoMA, Olde Times Square and Villager. Middle row, left to right: Coffee Cup, Wall Street and Ladies’ Mile. Bottom row, left to right: Hipster, Chelsea and Jersey. (Photos: New York City Department of Transportation)