In 2011, New York City decommissioned its last single-space parking meter. Many of the parking meters were sold, but discontinuing the use of single-space parking meters meant that there were thousands of iron poles sticking out of the sidewalks. Now the city has a plan for them: bike parking.
The city’s department of transportation has signed a $2 million contract to turn 12,000 old parking meter poles into bike racks. But is it worth the money? You bet, the New York Post reports:
Although the $1.9 million contract might seem like a lot, officials say that using existing infrastructure saves money because they don’t have to rip out the poles.
And because they’re made out of sturdy old parking meters, they are more difficult to steal.
The city already has about 200 parking meters that have been retrofit as bike racks. But with this new plan, the city will more than double its current number of bike racks.
Photo: Flickr/nycstreets
