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2005 |
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Fighting Obesity in Minority Communities The ‘Bikeracker Suite’ Raises the Bar for Service Memorial to Fund Teen Job Training Suburbs Ask Shoppers to Ride Bikes Federation Welcomes New Board Members Queen's Landing Crosswalk Closed |
The 'Bikeracker Suite' Raises the Bar
for Service One of my mother’s friends asked me what I was doing these days, and when I told her I was a bike valet, she seemed puzzled. Since not many people are familiar with the concept of riding a bike around instead of driving a car, let alone having a secure place to park a bicycle, I’ve gotten used to the perplexed look I get when I talk about my summer job. Interestingly, her puzzlement came from a phonetic misunderstanding rather than sheer ignorance or confusion. “Bike ballet?” she asked. I laughed as I pictured ballerinas in toe shoes, leaping and turning with tutu-outfitted bicycles in their arms. And then I realized: while being a bike valet is not nearly so graceful or rich with history (yet), it isn’t entirely unlike a ballet, either. After all, there is a costume (Bank One/Bike One T-shirt) and a set (barricades, bike racks, banners, etc.). There is a dance that we do — a predictable movement of ticket stubs through hands and bicycles toward and away from racks — and there is an audience watching and, sometimes, participating. The audience consists of the hundreds of cyclists that take advantage of the service on a given day, including, for instance, those whose bikes filled up the lot on July 2, during Taste of Chicago, as well as those whom we had to turn away. And then there are those who request services we do not provide: renting bikes, guarding blankets/coolers/chairs/babies (just joking about the babies), parking motorcycles, etc. Turning people away during Taste of Chicago was a bittersweet experience. On one hand, it meant that hundreds of people rode their bikes to the festival, knew about the program, and saw the value of parking their bikes at the Bike Valet rather than locking their bikes elsewhere. On the other hand, it meant that we were failing to provide a good service to all who wanted it. Upon closer examination, the disappointment and frustration of those we turned away reflects a couple of things. First, cyclists can sometimes be just as impatient as car drivers. Second, and more importantly, due to theft and arson, bicyclists prefer not to leave their bikes unmonitored. Additionally, when cyclists lock their bikes to a rack, sign or tree, there is not a safe and easy way to leave their belongings behind. Many asked us, “Well, where’s the other valet?” to which we replied, “We’re it. We’re the only one.” We could encourage even more people to ride their bikes as a primary means of transportation if we could expand on the Bike Valet program. Think about it: frequent, abundant, safe and convenient storage and parking for bicycle users. Maybe the “bike ballet” is a hotter ticket than we have thus far imagined. Encore, please! Paula Levin is a Bank One/Bike One Bike Valet Parking attendant
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