The Chainlink

If you are offended and feel the need to defend your particular event, please be advised...if it doesn't apply,Let it fly.

I wouldn't even say anything if this didn't happen several times at Bike specific events.

The kicker is that the last two CCMs' lead Cyclists to events, like a Pied Pipper, with no regard to where everyone would secure their bikes.

More recently, I am on board with the plan to navigate the Northside Critical Mass to the "Bike winter fashion show" as a fun destination.

The only problem is, I know there is not adequate parking for this event. Last time we were there(February CCM) The security guard across the street threatened to cut all our locks.

My only guess is that the coordinators of these events would be liable if they made any effort to help this situation...so they just do not address it.

I hope I hear positive feed back from event planners on this subject because it ultimately effects you. When you invite someone to your house, don't you think of where they are going to park their bike?... I do. It seems like you would create an event with the same courtesy.

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I do have to give credit to the Bike Winter film festival at Facets, for having an awesome indoor bike rack set up for the visitors.

Some major events do have "bike valets" but they require a certain amount of space which I can only assume the Gala Gallery does not have.  Not sure what the liability situation is with bike valets. 

In general I agree with you, but in this case isn't there more or less unlimited bike parking across the street from the Gala Gallery?  I'm thinking about that [housing project? apartment complex?] across the street that's surrounded with iron fencing that seems perfectly adequate for bike parking.  Or is that where the security guard threatened to cut the locks? Sounds like a pretty dick-ish move by the guard.

Apart from that, I always wonder about the legality of just taking over a couple of parking spaces for events like this.  Pay the machine for the spaces in front of the gallery and stick a row of portable grill racks or something in them.  Seems like it would be pretty cheap and accomodate a ton of bikes, but I'm not sure if it's actually legal.

The fence across the street was exactly the one the guard made everyone move from.

David said:

In general I agree with you, but in this case isn't there more or less unlimited bike parking across the street from the Gala Gallery?  I'm thinking about that [housing project? apartment complex?] across the street that's surrounded with iron fencing that seems perfectly adequate for bike parking.  Or is that where the security guard threatened to cut the locks? Sounds like a pretty dick-ish move by the guard.

Apart from that, I always wonder about the legality of just taking over a couple of parking spaces for events like this.  Pay the machine for the spaces in front of the gallery and stick a row of portable grill racks or something in them.  Seems like it would be pretty cheap and accomodate a ton of bikes, but I'm not sure if it's actually legal.

Critical Mass has been ending at art galleries and various other venues for years and for most of those years nobody ever had to worry about bike parking because there were meters every few feet. The city bike program continues to brag about installing "over 600" bike racks a year but we lost tens of thousands of "secure" spaces. I don't think it's anywhere near fair to make people volunteering their free time to plan events responsible for something that the city took away from us.

My only guess is that the coordinators of these events would be liable if they made any effort to help this situation...so they just do not address it.

I think it much more likely that the "coordinators" have jobs and other obligations and would really really love it if someone or someones who wasn't/weren't already maxed out just putting an event together would step up and take the initiative to help get some kind of formal bike parking help together.

Those "major events" are run by funded organizations with paid employees. Not sure how it relates to the specific types of events described by S Presley.

But I know he's a smart guy and I suspect his aim with this thread was to see if someone would step up with a bike parking plan for this Friday's fashion show...



Jared said:

Some major events do have "bike valets" but they require a certain amount of space which I can only assume the Gala Gallery does not have.  Not sure what the liability situation is with bike valets. 

I guess I found the magic formula for making a thread sink . . .

Wow, this may be the heaviest thread in Chainlink history-- page two twice in the same day!

So 2 things occurred to me:

1) Last year there -was- indoor valet bike parking for all of the art show events.  We had a fairly substantial Critical Mass arrive, and barkers making sure people knew there was indoor valet, and still for some reason the majority of cyclists insisted on locking outside.

2) If someone could track down a ladder or two, and could get three people to agree to a "watch" maybe in one-hour shifts, you'd have your secure parking right in front of the gallery Friday night.

Ladders:

1)

2)

Watch:

7-8)__________________________

8-9___________________________

9-10__________________________

Now that you mention it, I remember being a bit surprised that there wasn't secure bike parking at the Bike Swap last weekend. (Maybe I didn't see it?) There seemed to be lots of fenced-in space on the Pulaski Park grounds, too. 

maybe since i work on my bike i feel differently than the rest of you but i think this thread is kind of ridiculous. bring a lock, problem solved. i can't believe anyone would valet a bicycle. but again i depend on my bicycle for more than just commuting to work on nice days and swerving around the roads on the weekend. this is almost as silly as the i rode today thread.

Just wanted to respond to Dave's post about the Chicago Bike Swap last weekend. We had hoped to put up a full Bike Valet parking area to accommodate our guests, but we simply didn't have enough staffing/ volunteers to operate it.  So we brought out a few bike racks on Blackhawk Street.  We're looking into finding a bigger venue for next year - hopefully with more/ better bike parking options.  Stay tuned.

Katie Leisner, Active Trans

There's some nuance that seems to have gotten missed, Michael.

"Secure" bike parking does not equal "Bike Valet."

At least I hope nobody's suggesting that one should be responsible for organizing bike valet any time they organize a happening for the bike community.

And, as stated above, people seem to shun bike valet unless they're completely out of other options.

Back to Friday night:

Ladders:

1)

2)

Watch:

7-8)__________________________

8-9___________________________

9-10__________________________

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