PROSPECT HEIGHTS — More bike parking is coming to Washington and Vanderbilt avenues this month after the community board approved a plan Thursday for four new “bike corrals” in front of bars and restaurants in the area.
The Department of Transportation will build the corrals, which will each eliminate one vehicle parking space to make room for eight bicycles, in the street in front of Bar Corvo on Washington Avenue and Bar Chuko, Milk Bar and Branded Saloon on Vanderbilt Avenue.
The owners of each establishment applied to the DOT earlier this year for the corrals to be installed, but they needed approval from the community board to move forward with the project.
Not everyone was in favor of the corrals. Eight Community Board 8 members opposed the corrals, and two abstained from the vote, while 29 board members supported it.
Jason Atkins, a resident and driver in the area, stood up at Thursday night's meeting to speak against the corrals, saying that while bike parking is needed, it belongs near transit hubs instead of in vehicle parking spaces.
“I felt like there needed to be a lot more room for compromise,” Atkins said of the plan. “I’m just thinking about people in this community who want to drive their cars who may not have the opportunity to park.”
David Christini, a member of the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council who helped organize the bike corral plan, responded to Atkins’ concerns, saying that the bike corrals would only replace three out of 94 parking spaces on Vanderbilt Avenue. He added that as he and others canvassed the area about the project this year, the community response was almost always positive.
“The support was basically 10 to 1 in favor of the bike corrals,” he said.
A DOT spokesman said the agency expects to install the bike corrals between Sept. 23 and Oct. 2.
