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The prototype by Baroni & Valeriani Architects of Florence, Italy faces tough competition from a street sign.
The Department of Transportation's design competition for the next generation of bike racks entered its final phase yesterday with the installation of ten design prototypes around New York City. Nine of the ten finalists' prototypes were installed at Astor Place, and as of 6 p.m. yesterday they were almost entirely unused. It'll probably take a day or two before more cyclists discover the next-wave locking options in the Alamo island there, so for now it seems there's plenty of free parking.
You'll recall that David Byrne, one of the judges in the design competition, created his own clever "neighborhood theme" bike racks. (See his designs here; they're not in competition.) The jury picked the finalists out of 200 entries from 24 states and 26 countries. The winner of the competition, to be announced on October 24th during National Design Week, will get $5,000. In exchange, the city gets to keep the intellectual property rights to the design and start installing it.
In a statement, Paul Steely White of Transportation Alternatives welcomed the "eye-catching" prototypes but stressed that "for bike parking to really work well, we need quantity and quality. Bike racks should be as common in New York City as street lights." The city currently has about 4,700 of the old U-shaped "CityRacks" around town, but with a 75% increase in bike ridership since 2000, cyclists are clamoring for more. Here's a map of other places where prototypes are installed (though Astor Place has the greatest number of them).
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That shiny red one WAS at Astor place around noon - it had been broken and looked like it was made of stiff foam, not a good thing to lock your bike to!
I hate bikes and bikers, they get in my way when I'm speeding around town in my Ferrari...VROOM VROOOM!
The Ignacio Cocchini (ring with green post) is my favorite. It's more practical than the low to the ground prototypes (nobody wants to crouch or lean over, especially when in a hurry), it's sleek and simple, has a smaller footprint than the more popular Open Thread Design prototype (long black rail), and it just looks more official to me. It looks like a municipal fixture without being hideous.
I like the one that looks like my bike cable! They all look a little flimsy though. I feel like you can kick any of them right out of the cement.
There's only ONE in Brooklyn??
Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 & 6. The others lack insight or originality. The red one is stupid. Very few u-locks can use it or you have to have a snake. 2 bikes at most. Dumb design.
"There's only ONE in Brooklyn??"
My thoughts exactly. With all the bike commuters in Park Slope and Williamsburg alone, you would think Brooklyn could get a few more of these.
This one is on 5th Avenue at 57th Street:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/edstern/2800172909
i have to say i'm pretty surprised that so many of the circular ones were chosen as finalists. those racks are easily rendered useless by just two cycles. the open thread brooklyn design is a little more "official" like #3 sez, but its mobius-stripness is clever and my goodness! it does look functional as hell. plus, easy to rest an ass on when no bikes are parked.
lovely for the happy loiterer in me.
Unless they're going to put these every ten feet, the racks are rather wasteful since they only allow two bikes apiece at most. If you're going to spend all that manpower anchoring these in the sidewalk, at least make each have a capacity of six or more bikes, just like the old designs.
Which ever cutsie one they choose just make sure they dont put it too close to the curb so your handle bars don't get clipped by passing cars.
I walked past these the last couple days... they look cool but I can't believe they're actually considering choosing any of them to install in large quantities around the city. They're artistic but most of them are not very practical. If they're gonna install anything new they should make sure it can hold at least four bikes. I don't think most of these could do that.
F,F,F,F,F,F,F,C(open thread),F, aaaaannnnnd - F.
Why doesn't the city do something like this (see below) to save resources?
http://flickr.com/photos/bosconet/2085628522/
Those are scarey
These suk! this is the best from 200?
I prefer the ring ones. The Open Thread is long and you know people are going to park their bikes so they block both anchor posts anyway.
I like Ian Mahaffy and Maarten De Greeve's design.
Just went to check out the finalist prototypes. Generally unimpressed. A good half of them could be ripped out of the ground within seconds. Some just don’t make any sense. Most of them are no better and probably more expensive than the existing racks.
I’ll go one by one:
-Baroni Valeriani-Coil Design- Too low. Doesn’t hold bike up well. Can’t lock wheel and frame, which is essential.
-Federico Otero-Butterfly Shape Design- Almost ripped out of the ground by hand. Puts bikes on an angle, most likely to fall over later.
-Francis Anthony Bitonti-Orange Blob- Why did this make it to the final 10? It is completely worthless. The prototype broke on it’s first day out.
-Open Thread Design-Black ZigZag Design- Weren’t they proposing a tall sign-post design? This zigzag thing is huge, and it only holds two bikes at best. It also doesn’t benefit from having that weird zigzag shape at all.
-Next Phase Studios- Steel Cable Design- Interesting concept. My main concern with this one is the flexibility. It’s nice that you can shape the rack into different forms, but it just feels strange locking your bike to something that is flexible. Doesn’t feel safe.
-Stephan Jaklitsch- Trapezoid Design- Nice sculpture. Doesn’t read as a bike rack, nor does it feel secure.
-Ignacio Ciocchini- Ring Design- Clean look. This would look nice in the city, but that’s as far as it goes. It’s very flimsy, it almost broke as well.
-Ian Mahaffy and Maarten de Greeve- Bike Rim Design- Very sexy look. Again, not sturdy. Single mounting point is just asking to be broken. Expensive casting for only holding two bikes.
-Jeff Miller and Andrea Ruggiero- Diamond Shape Design- Cast iron?? It’s already rusting! Plastic trim on the inside will break very soon. Functional shape, accommodates different bike sizes.
-Andrew Lang and Harry Dobbs- Heart Shape Design- Also a good shape. Accommodates different bikes, but it only holds two. Nice branding opportunity.
So there it is. I don’t see any of these improving upon the existing racks. None of them truly address the fact that NYC is a rough town. People will find ways to damage, break, and steal your bikes. Sure some of them look pretty at the Cooper Hewitt, but they won’t survive in the real world.
Cheers.
Aaron
Guys! you have to go see and try the prototypes before you write stuff down. Some of these designss are great and could really work in New York. This is what I think after testing the racks.
The Y is eye catching and functional but is too big for sidewalks and perfect for scateboarders to slide on, the nice yellow color won’t last too long. People sit on it all the time, would you like to ask someone to move to park your bike? Not in New York. Could work still.
The paper clip, Otero, is a clever shape but mounts to the sidewalk in a very awkward and weak way, it moves when you push it, and the tubing feels really easy to cut. I would not recommend this one.
Next phase studios moves too much and feels unsafe. I don’t know if plastic is the right material for this, even if it has metal inside. Looks really cool and distinctive and has multiple connection points, would not bend wheels.
The one by the italians is agood shape but it is too small and only allows for locking one wheel, it is too low to lock the frame. It is a huge tripping hazard.
Jacklischt Archs, is very sculptural but it is not practical, form over function, the top is too thin and the bottom is too wide for locks. i would not recommend this one.
Miller/Ruggiero looks good and could work really well but the material is rusting already. Could work still with some modifications of paint choice.
Ian Mahaffy and Maarten de Greeve is elegant but mounts to the sidewalk in a complicated way and feels like it is going to fall down, the surface is very rough and could scratch bikes. Not for New York.
Ciocchini looks cool, is very sturdy and the ring is big enough to allow locking the wheels and frame. The green post reminded me of NY street name signs. I think this is the best one by far, parks two bikes really well, takes little space and can be repeated to add more bikes. My favorite.
Bitonti is really cool public art or sculpture but I don’t think anyone would identify it as a bikerack. Superb shape, extremely poor material choice. Not recommended.
Open Thread works but it is just plain ugly and too big for NY sidewalks.
Ok, I'm done!
ENABRU
Do any of these offer any improvement over current municipal bike racks? I don't see how they would. The single-bike curled red one sure doesn't, and the really low yellow Y-shaped one is a nuisance.
One thing, though-- commenting on the sturdiness of these things is premature, as they are only prototypes, after all.