Coop’s new bike parking will debut at this weekend’s Art Harvest Festival

Last week The East End Food Coop put the final touches on 30 new and secure spaces for its patrons and employees to park their bikes.  The 30 spots are spread over two locations on The Factory’s property; a parking spot turned Bike Corral and an indoor rack / work-station.

The East End Food Coop, along with The Factory’s landlord, developed the property’s first Bike Corral in the parking spot adjacent to the outdoor picnic area. The Corral consists of ten new ‘swerve’ racks with space enough for twenty bikes. Its convenient location will provide bikers easy access to the coop, a safe area to pack their bike with groceries, and a more quiet space for picnickers to enjoy a car free meal!

Ten more bikes can be parked at five new swerve racks located inside the main entrance to The Factory. These spots will be used primarily for employee bike parking. A Dero Fix-it station, equipped with all the tools needed for basic bike maintenance, will also be located in this area to give employees and customers the opportunity to make quick adjustments or inflate their tires before hitting the road.

Eryn Hughes, The East End Food Coop’s Outreach Coordinator, said “The Co-op’s objectives have been to increase bike parking capacity and to fulfill our commitment to sustainability.” About the planning process, Eryn said, “We wanted to get it right the first time so we talked to a lot of people.” The Coop consulted with the city’s Bike-Ped Coordinator, Steve Patchan, along with BikePGH before finalizing their $5,000 investment. Because of all the planning and cooperation of these different groups, the Coop is sure to have a successful Corral.

The East End Food Coop is looking forward to the inauguration of these racks during the Art Harvest Street Festival this weekend. A portion of Meade St. will be closed off to car traffic to allow for in-street festivities. You can be sure the new Corral will be packed! Come on out for a day of partying in the street and celebrating the next step by a PGH business towards building bike-positive infrastructure.

Not a member of BikePGH? Join today! We need you to add your voice! Bike Pittsburgh works to protect cyclist’s rights and promote the vision of making Pittsburgh a safer and more enjoyable place to live and to ride. For more info, check out: www.bike-pgh.org/membership