A “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for ten bicycles

Local governments (at least in the US) seem to systematically underinvest in experiments like this. Things like traffic congestion have a ton of weird, largely unpredictable positive and negative feedback loops.<p>Seattle removed its waterfront viaduct from service for a couple of weeks before changing over to the new $3.3B tunnel and traffic was mostly fine, despite apocalyptic predictions of gridlock. It&#x27;s not entirely unfair to claim that they could have saved literally billions of dollars by just closing the viaduct for a month or two and observing what happens to traffic patterns.<p>Or businesses that predict their imminent bankruptcy when a few parking spots are removed to create a bike lane. Why not put down a few traffic cones to delineate a temporary bike lane and observe what happens to traffic in and out of the businesses?

This concept would make a fun (thought) experiment for a street in the US.<p>Imagine a car parked curbside in a city street somewhere in the US. No one complains, because this is how everyone expects street space to be used - as storage for private cars.<p>Maybe there&#x27;s a flatbed trailer attached to this car. Now add bike racks to the flatbed trailer. Next, add a stairway or a ramp. Then, gradually lower the trailer a little bit each day until it becomes a platform on the ground. Finally, take away the car.<p>Measure at which point homeowners start complaining.

It would be useful for cities with colder and snowy seasons like Toronto, where between summer and winter bicycle traffic varies greatly.

&gt; A light, quick, cheap solution so good, it should be copied the world over.<p>It is. This can be seen all over... SF, LA, DC, Austin, Ann Arbor ... I have seen this everywhere (in the US)

A lot of similar “bike platforms” in Oslo&#x2F;Norway. Guide from the municipality: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;translate.googleusercontent.com&#x2F;translate_c?depth=1&amp;nv=1&amp;rurl=translate.google.com&amp;sl=no&amp;sp=nmt4&amp;tl=en&amp;u=https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.tiltak.no&#x2F;b-endre-transportmiddelfordeling&#x2F;b-3-tilrettelegging-sykkel&#x2F;b-3-3&#x2F;&amp;xid=17259,15700023,15700186,15700190,15700256,15700259,15700262&amp;usg=ALkJrhj7tkTPS9CqXI45eqd3xRT-_5snlA" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;translate.googleusercontent.com&#x2F;translate_c?depth=1&amp;...</a><p>Google Maps of all the bike routes, parking and “bike-self-service-points”: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.google.com&#x2F;maps&#x2F;d&#x2F;viewer?mid=1oO7FZepl8zXxKmx22yV91LUd1KZgYkU_&amp;ll=59.92348788725151%2C10.730553549999968&amp;z=11%20" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.google.com&#x2F;maps&#x2F;d&#x2F;viewer?mid=1oO7FZepl8zXxKmx22y...</a>

I&#x27;ve seen a couple of these in Helsinki with the cut-out shape of a car, so they take the space of a parked car but fit a number of bikes inside. I think it sort of hammers the point home in the city centre...

Seems like a good way to regulate escooters. Better for cities than sidewalks, better for companies than permitting the construction of infrastructure. Flexible enough to adjust to demand.

I like how this doesn&#x27;t have a frame around it, and is just an extension of the curb, including for safety reasons.<p>My city (walking distance to Boston, Mass., proper) seems relatively pro-bikes by US standards, and was experimenting with placing a pipe frame bike rack in parking spots, on at least one major street. But given the Boston-area prevalence of texting drivers, drunk drivers, aggression over parking spot scarcity (see &quot;Boston space savers&quot;), and high degree of animosity between some drivers and bikers... that frame looked to me like a deathtrap cage, for getting you mangled by a bunch of bicycles, if a car ever hit the frame at-speed while you were inside.

My first thought? Bring a flat-bed and you have 10 bicycles.. Are there any security features in this concept?

I expect that among many of the bike friendly policies mentioned in this thread one technological advancement specifically the cyclist &#x2F; pedestrian avoidance systems that new cars have started coming with will greatly improve the safety for cyclists and ultimately increase the number of cyclists that feel safe sharing the road with cars. I dream that it might actually lead to a tipping point in areas where cycling make more sense than cars

A few years ago my neighborhood did one better and replaced two parking spaces with a parklet: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;moss-design.com&#x2F;chicagos-first-parklet-in-andersonville&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;moss-design.com&#x2F;chicagos-first-parklet-in-andersonvil...</a><p>People &gt; cars, always.

While bicycles are popular, it is hard to imagine that human-pedaled versions will become a norm.<p>It is impossible to imagine them used in a heat of Miami, or Atlanta (Georgia), or in Moscow.<p>There well populated and mild-weathered megalopolis (London, most southern CA, north east China) -- but the speed, distance and volume of participants -- just do not make bicycles practical.<p>I think the long solution is really de-urbanization of these megacities that act like a country-within-a-country.<p>On a separate note, I find the use of word &#x27;platform&#x27; (even in quotes) is unfortunate.<p>Platforms, I though, mean something that provides composeable building blocks + principles for a variety of yet-to-be-anticipated needs.

I&#x27;m not sure I understand. From a safety point of view I&#x27;d be concerned locking my bike to something that is literally designed to be moved on a flat bed.. From a space optimization point of view, why would you put a bike rack in one of the only places you can park a motor vehicle while there is almost endless amounts of space around for bicycle parking&#x2F;storage(relatively at least)?

Something that often is neglected: Destroying Car parking for bike corals in inner cities tends to affect out-of-towners, people who <i>cannot</i> bike into cities because of distance, disproportionally. Noone drives their car low distances within cities because that would mean losing their spot.

Seems like it would minimize the number of things you needed to steal to make it worth your effort. One!

I like the ones pictured lower in that Twitter feed where there is a big chunk of car shaped metal between the bikes and the road. I had a concern with the original that some asshole not paying attention to the road is going to sideswipe the spot and ruin 10 bike tires at once.

A great idea. Bike parking spaces can be set up without going through any construction work so there is no big planning or paperwork required. If it is deciced to make that a permanent installation, construction can be done then.

&gt;The fietsvlonder is a “bike platform” that temporarily swaps one car parking space for 10 bicycles. If deemed a success, the curb is permanently adjusted, and the structure is moved to the next location.<p>What makes it a success or failure?

We have one of these in my small, snowy Vermont town. I think it’s brilliant since it’s easily removed in winter when the bike rack would hinder plowing&#x2F;sidewalk clearing.

quick survey : how many readers actually ride to work?

the real question is what colour it should be

<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.denhaag.nl&#x2F;nl&#x2F;in-de-stad&#x2F;verkeer-en-vervoer&#x2F;fietsen&#x2F;fietsvlonders-een-plank-met-fietsbeugels.htm" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.denhaag.nl&#x2F;nl&#x2F;in-de-stad&#x2F;verkeer-en-vervoer&#x2F;fiet...</a><p>Here&#x27;s a bit more information on the things, in Dutch. They have 10 of them in Den Haag (The Hague), they are placed on a parking spot and left there for 3 months. Should there not be any complaints the thing will be removed and replaced with permanent cycle parking within another 3 months.<p>The device seems to be free-standing and to rely on weight alone to keep it in place so those of you who commented on the possibility of harvesting 10 bikes at a time using a flat bed truck may be on to something. Then again, in the Netherlands there are so many bikes around which are easier to steal that I do not deem this to be a real problem, let alone the fact that those who attempt to load it on a truck will probably not get very far.

I&#x27;ve long said that we need something like this for dockless bikes&#x2F;scooters. Just converting 1% of parking spaces in the city would drastically reduce the &quot;littering&quot; problem.

Yeah... but in the end, you still have to ride a bike.

This introduces an element of temporariness into the fight between cars vs bikes parking. I think the issue needs to be dealt with at a fundamental level, do we as a country&#x2F;city decide to use more bikes or cars? As far as I&#x27;m aware there has been a decisive victory by the cars in the US over the past 50 years mainly due to oil companies pushing for it and lobbying against public transportation. Using cars also pushes the boundaries of technological progress, anything that requires more technology (ie. cars more than bikes) will make the society more technological and will create more jobs in the technology sector. Even if the solution to transportation can be solved without as much tech, sometimes it may be desirable to create more tech for the sake of creating more tech and not because of necessity because there will be times when the same tech or expertise in tech can help solve an orthogonal, but existential problem. (eg. we don&#x27;t need to have a space station but we do, ISS has allowed the creation of technological advances that have provided benefits to society on Earth in areas including health and medicine, transportation, public safety, consumer goods, energy and environment, information technology, and industrial productivity [0])<p>[0] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nasa.gov&#x2F;sites&#x2F;default&#x2F;files&#x2F;files&#x2F;Benefits-Stemming-from-Space-Exploration-2013-TAGGED.pdf" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nasa.gov&#x2F;sites&#x2F;default&#x2F;files&#x2F;files&#x2F;Benefits-Stem...</a>