City aims to maximize bicycle parking space with new two-sided racks

As part of a pilot project, the City recently purchased a total of 30 bicycle racks that fit onto the steel posts that support parking meters. Each rack will allow two bikes at a time to be anchored to a post.

The first rack has been installed on a parking meter on the north side of Sherbrooke Street near the corners of Elm and Mount Pleasant avenues.

"These are racks that occupy less space than the large moveable racks," said City Councillor George Bowser, who oversaw the purchase.

The City plans to install the racks mainly in Westmount's commercial areas, including Greene Avenue, Victoria Avenue and Sherbrooke Street, for a trial period, beginning in September.

Bowser said the rack model chosen is a prototype which is considered more efficient than other designs. He said it can be installed without the loss of a parking spot. "Parking is at a premium in Westmount, particularly in the commercial sectors," he said.

Although the first rack is painted black, he said the remainder will be grey to match the parking meter poles and other City property. The unit cost per rack, in standard black, was $275. Taxes, transport and repainting brought the total bill to $9,970.63.

According to Bowser, some residents, and the Healthy City Environment Committee, had been urging the City to install additional racks for bicycles since the current city council took office. "We looked at possible locations, and then we were always dealing with the problem of the size of the conventional four-rail rack that you'll see," he said. "There's one near City Hall, for example, where you push the bike in.

"They have a large footprint, and so the larger the footprint the harder it is to fit them into a convenient or appropriate space. And so it was a question of design … You're not occupying any more real estate, but you are accommodating more bicycles. That was the plan … Council hopes that the units will be well-received."

If the trial period study ends on a positive note, additional racks could installed throughout the commercial sectors of Westmount. "If they're will used and people like them, then we'll get more and we'll spread them around," said Bowser.

The locations where the new racks are being installed are Sherbroooke (north side) between Grosvenor and Victoria at each parking meter; Sherbrooke (south side) between Claremont and Prince Albert; Victoria (west side) Sherbrooke to Somerville at each parking meter; Greene (both sides) Sherbrooke to laneway (east side) and Sherbrooke to parking lot (west side); Greene and de Maisonneuve intersection, in front of TD Bank, in front of Bank of Montreal, and in front of Cinq Saisons on Greene Avenue.