Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and words of the below guest blog post do not necessarily represent or express those of BikePGH. They are solely those of the author. 

Local Northside Businesses Become More Bicycle Friendly by Expanding Their Bike Parking Capacity

GUEST BLOG POST BY Walk Ride Northside

Thanks to the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s ‘Neighborhood Initiatives Fund’ program, the Walk Ride Northside (WRNS) committee of the Northside Leadership Conference was able to install fifteen bike hoop racks at twelve hyper-local Northside businesses.

Eleven of the twelve businesses who received racks did not have existing on-site bike parking, and the neighborhoods in which they are located have few or no bike parking options.

Businesses include Café on the Corner (Marshall-Shadeland), Carmi Express (Central Northside), City Fresh Pasta (Chateau), Ida’s Sandwich Shop (coming soon, Observatory Hill), Observatory Hill Deli (Observatory Hill), Penn Brewery (Troy Hill), Scratch & Co. (Troy Hill), ShadoBeni (coming soon, Central Northside), The Garden Café (East Allegheny), The Government Center (East Allegheny), Threadbare Cider House (Spring Garden) and Young Bros. Bar (Marshall-Shadeland).

More places to park a bicycle can encourage more people to ride a bike

This bike rack installation project serves as Phase 2 of the WRNS committee’s We Like Bikes! bike friendly business program, which launched in June of 2019. The program is geared toward increasing bike safety, encouraging people to bike in the Northside and supporting Northside businesses. WRNS believes that the addition of bike parking options at these local businesses help to make those visions more of a reality.

The initial launch of the We Like Bikes! program provided bike repair kits including tire pumps, tire levers, patch kits, chain tools and screwdriver/wrench multi-tools to program business partners throughout the Northside. Go to www.pittsburghnorthside.com/wrns to learn more about WRNS and We Like Bikes!

If you are interested in joining WRNS to assist with projects like this and more, email Sarah Jugovic, WRNS chairperson at jugovicsarah@gmail.com, and Jesse Descutner, WRNS staff support at jesse@pittsburghnorthside.com

WRNS meets on the first Tuesday of every month at 6PM.

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