Soon there will be more bicycle parking options on Fourth Avenue.
The City of Tucson is adding two new bike corrals to the popular stretch, but these will be a little different than the corrals cyclists have become accustomed to.
Corrals are used to move parking off the sidewalk and into the roadway and often replace a car parking space.
Ann Chanecka, Tucson’s bike and pedestrian program manager said the the new corrals will be smaller than other corrals and placed in areas that are too small for parking spaces, but big enough to accommodate a few bike parking spaces.
The first will be in front of Antigone Books on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Seventh Street. The corral will have room for three racks.
The second will be located outside the Book Stop, which is on Fourth Avenue just north of Ninth Street.
The will mark the fourth and fifth corrals along the stretch. The other three include one at University Boulevard and Fourth Avenue outside Epic Cafe, one outside the Food Co-Op on Fourth Avenue and Seventh Street and the newest corral outside The Coronet at Ninth Street and Fourth Avenue.
It’s good to see more corrals going in. However, the one pictured in front of the CO-OP looks pretty small. As cyclists incorporate bicycling into their lifestyle, the bikes tend to get bigger, heavier and more unwieldly (with racks, panniers, and baskets loaded down from shopping, commuting, etc.) – compared to the road bikes recreational cyclists have ridden the past umpteen years. Placing the bike racks so close to the high curb can make maneuvering (while staying out of traffic) a challenge. I applaud the new corrals, but please take into account the changes going on in cycling.
Augsburg – thanks and I appreciate your comment. We are trying to factor that into the design but sometimes we are constrained by the space available. However, the newer design for the one in front of Ermanos Craft Beer on 4th will be a step in that direction.
For what it’s worth, I have a cargo bike and fit into the spaces in front of the Coop just fine. Glad to see more spaces on 4th Ave. I hope that this is a sign that the city is not going to re-route bikes along 3rd or somewhere else.