By Nicholas Mirra, Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia

The evolution of bicycle parking in Philadelphia is poised to take a big step forward this month as City Council considers a bill codifying the process for the installation of bike corrals (news articles here and here). Bike corrals are collections of bike racks placed in the street, protected by plastic bollards or other barriers, typically occupying one car parking space. While not chosen for their aesthetics (unlike the art bike racks coming soon to Center City), bike corrals substantially expand the bike parking capacity of a block, a boon for commercial and cultural districts.

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, whose artist-designed bike rack project is expected to conclude this fall, brought the first bike corral to Philadelphia. The installation, part of Park(ing) Day in September 2011, brought a car-shaped contraption holding 14 bicycles to the corner of Walnut and Sydenham St in Center City.

Philadelphia’s first-ever bike corral, at Walnut & Sydenham in Center City

Bike corrals are staples of other bicycle-friendly cities like Portland and Seattle. The success of the Center City corral, which is frequently chock-full of bicycles during not-miserable weather, was a sign that such installations made sense in Philadelphia. The Bicycle Coalition encouraged the City of Philadelphia to bring new corrals to its streets, and it did with a pilot program in 2012.

Ten businesses in different neighborhoods applied for one of the city-supplied bike corrals, and they were installed in the summer and fall of 2012. These corrals are more basic: six U-racks collected together and protected with orange bollards. For businesses like Whole Foods on South Street, Mariposa Co-Op in West Philly, and Johnny Brenda’s in Fishtown, the corrals mean parking for up to 12 customers were previously only 1 could park.

The bike corral on Baltimore Ave was being used even before the bike lane was finished being repainted

Now with City Council poised to codify the process, other businesses can apply to obtain bike corrals for their streets. This is an exciting development for Philadelphia, which already bikes to work more than any other big American city. Should the bill pass, business corridors, museums, theaters, and other institutions whose visitors and customers arrive by bicycle will have a new way to facilitate that patronage.