Dero recently made the news in local business publication, Finance and Commerce. See below for full article. Also visit: http://www.finance-commerce.com/

A Twin Cities bicycle boom

by Kendall Anderson Staff Writer

Mackenzie Turner of the Twin Cities Commuter Connection demonstrates for bike commuters how to use the racks on Metro Transit buses and light rail transit (LRT). The nonprofit, at 220 S. 6th St., has seen a big demand for bike maps and bike-related information. (Photo: Bill Klotz)

The Twin Cities is experiencing a surge in bicycle commuting, and companies across the region are adjusting their facilities accordingly.With bike commuting up 30 percent over last year by some counts, area companies are adding shower facilities, indoor storage space and other perks. And at several Twin Cities-based manufacturers, the change in commuting behavior is boosting sales and even causing a shortage of parts.Carmichael Lynch advertising firm employees who bike to work are now eligible for a $500 drawing, as well as other incentives. On the other side of downtown, Target has watched its onsite shower and locker room facility, used by bikers as well as lunchtime exercisers, near maximum capacity in the past two months.In St. Paul, the First National Bank Building just finished building an indoor

bike-storage facility. And Butler Square in downtown Minneapolis recently struck a deal with nearby Lifetime Fitness to allow bike commuters who work in the building to use shower and dress facilities – for free. The move is helping Butler Square work toward its LEED certification, said Denise McCormick, senior property manager.

“It’s a small step but it’s certainly a very visible effect – tenants are seeing the building going green,” said McCormick, who said she’s watched the number of Butler Square-bound bicyclists increase ten-fold from a year ago.

A company can get LEED certification points by having a shower facility within 200 feet of the building, McCormick said.

Tracy Pleschourt, facilities manager for Carmichael Lynch, said the firm’s original objective was “to do what we could to deter the effects of carbon emissions.” But now, “we’re finding the employees are talking about it so much that we would definitely say it helps with employee retention.”

Ameriprise, the largest single-tenant office building in downtown Minneapolis, has had an underground bike-parking area for years.

“I think we were really ahead of the curve because we realized it was good for the city and employees,” Stacy Housman, a spokeswoman for Ameriprise Financial Center and Ameriprise Services Center.

One local company actually pays its employees to bike. Well, sort of. Allina, which sits near the Midtown Greenway, offers bike storage facilities as well as a stipend to defray the costs of utilizing shower and related facilities at the Freewheel Midtown Bike Center, which opened in May with seed money from Allina as well as the City of Minneapolis.

Other companies could follow in the footsteps – or bike paths – of these Twin Cities companies, especially with federal legislation on the table. A bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives last month (and is pending in the Senate) would allow companies to provide bicycling employees a tax benefit to defray the costs of commuting.

Demand from cities

Dero Bike Rack Co. in south Minneapolis saw an 84 percent increase in June sales over the same month in 2007; the national leader in bike rack and bike storage products said it’s experiencing 20 percent more growth than expected. Quality Bicycle Products in Bloomington, the nation’s leading bike parts supplier, and some of the stores it supplies, such as Freewheel Midtown Bike Center, have had spot shortages of utilitarian bike accessories.

Dero, which has 14 full-time employees, declined to release annual revenue or related data. But spokesman Nick Mason said the private company recently filled a large order for bike rack-related products in Boston in what the company calls a new trend. More and more cities and municipal agencies are placing large orders for bike racks and lockers.

“We’re seeing two things happening:  municipal governments are now beginning to plan for bike racks and we’re seeing more demand at the individual company level,” Mason said. 

Dero is also seeing an upsurge in event-related bike parking. The Walker Art Center is among facilities that have recently hosted events at which bike racks – and even bike valet parking – were available, Mason said.

Fueling the changes in behavior – and sales, in some cases – is the surge in gas prices to $4 or more per gallon.

The number of bikes on the Midtown Greenway jumped 30 percent over 2007, according to a city survey. From April through June, cycling trips on the greenway climbed to 17,466 from 13,470 in 2007.

“In response to skyrocketing gas prices and global warming, more people than ever are getting out of their cars and getting on their bikes,” said Mayor R.T. Rybak, who hopes to see Minneapolis become the nation’s leading bike-commuting city. At 2.5 percent of total commuters, the number of Minneapolis bikers places it second in the nation, behind only Portland, Ore.

“The Midtown Greenway is a rare urban treasure and a perfect way to get around town – especially a bike-friendly town like Minneapolis.”

The greenway, the first phase of which opened in 2000, is a 5.5 mile walking and biking trail stretching from the Chain of Lakes in the west to the Mississippi River in the east. Funded in part with federal transportation dollars, the greenway is a partnership between the City of Minneapolis and Hennepin County.

The survey electronically counted bikes at Hennepin Avenue, Cedar Avenue and West River Parkway. Hennepin Avenue had the highest count, with a daily average of 3,620 bicyclists  in June – a monthly high and a 35 percent increase over the June 2007 average of 2,680.

Dusting off chandeliers

Dan Breva, the manager at Freewheel, said since opening in May he’s seen higher-than-expected demand for bike bags and the racks that support them on utilitarian-type bikes (as opposed to racing bikes). Bike mechanics have also been in demand, he said.

“We’re seeing a lot of bikes that basically have been garage chandeliers for a number of years coming down off the rafters and being dusted off – we’re seeing a lot more tune-ups on older bikes,” Breva said, adding that “accessories for utilitarian biking have been a little tough to come by,” he said. “It seems to be occurring nationwide – basically there have been shortages on parts and accessories and even some bikes.”

Rybak, as well as St. Paul city officials, is working on a self-service bike-sharing program that would resemble the one launched this summer in Washington, D.C. The long-term plan for the area is an offshoot of a free bike-sharing plan that the cities are working on with Humana for the Republican National Convention Sept. 1 – 4.

The Twin Cities has 80-plus miles of off-street bike trails and 40 miles of dedicated bike lanes on streets.

“I think here in the Twin Cities it [the trend] is going to last and continue to grow because our bike network of trails and lanes and dedicated bike lanes is coming together more and more every year,” Breva said.

Bike to the Lynx Game!

Sunday, July 27, 2008 @ 5 p.m.

Hop on your bike and come cheer for the Minnesota Lynx as they take on the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday, July 27. This event offers FREE bike parking to attendees and is hosted by ABC Ramps, the Minnesota Lynx, Dero Bike Racks and the Bike Walk Ambassadors. $10 tickets to the game can be purchased for just $5, a 50% savings!

Bike parking will be available in a secured bike corral located on 7th Street N. at 2nd Avenue N. between the Target Center and Ramp A. Directional arrows will be posted from the Cedar Lake Trail and the Hennepin Avenue bike lanes. Racks, provided by Dero Bike Racks, will be available within the corral for bikers to lock their bikes to. The bike corral will open at 4:00 p.m. and will close a half hour after the game ends.

The discounted Lynx tickets will be available the day of the event at the Target Center Box Office. In order to receive the $5 ticket, a valid voucher must be provided. Vouchers are available here as well as in the bike corral the day of the event.

This is the perfect opportunity to get out and enjoy a Sunday afternoon with friends and family – and it’s easy on the pocketbook and the environment! We hope to see you there!

This event is for non-motorized bicycles only.

Important Links:

• to the Lynx Game flyer – Redeem this for your discounted Lynx tickets! Suggested Bike Routes to the Bike Corral.
• Sunset Times
• Sunset Charts
• Share the Road
• Bike 2 Benefits
• Bike Walk Twin Cities
• Bike Walk Ambassadors
• Twin Cities Bicycling Club
• Dero Bicycle Racks
• Minnesota Lynx

The 2008 Bicycle Film Festival kicked off last night at the Riverview Theater. As with all the BFF locations, bicycle valet parking was available for attendees. Dero Bike Racks sponsored temporary, Event Racks for the show and the City of Minneapolis Bicycle Ambassadors ran the valet, which was packed. Nearly 70% of the attendees arrived by bike- there were over 230 bikes on site for the second show of short films. The crowd also loved the big screen viewing of Breaking Away that opened last night. 

Check out the article from the Park Record newspaper below. The Dero Bike Bike racks will be a welcome upgrade to the existing grid or “wheel-bender” style of bike parking currently in use throughout town. We always appreciate it when communities can take a comprehensive approach to bike parking solutions as Park City has done.

 Stuart Leigh, who works for B&B Landscaping, installs a bicycle rack at City Park, one of a set of similar racks that crews hired by City Hall have put in recently. Matt Twombly, a Park City official assigned to pedestrian and bicycling issues, says people are more apt to ride bicycles if there are racks where they can be locked. Jay Hamburger/Park Record

Bicycle racks debut all over Park City
City Hall wants to promote bicycling, make it convenient to lock up bikes
by Jay Hamburger OF THE RECORD STAFF

Park City bicyclists need not look for the nearest chain-link fence to lock their bikes to anymore.

They should instead search for the green-colored bicycle racks that City Hall is installing in 30 places in Park City, part of the local government’s efforts to promote bicycling as an alternate to driving. The city recently bought the bike racks. They are shaped like bicycles.

Matt Twombly, a Park City official who is assigned to pedestrian and bicycling issues, says the installations were scheduled to be finished soon. The crews were assigned to place them in spots including:

The skateboard park at City Park, The Park City Library and Education Center, The softball diamond at City Park, The China Bridge garage, A walkway connecting Main Street and Swede Alley on the 400 block of Main Street, The Racquet Club

“People will be more apt to ride their bike if there is somewhere to put their bike” that is secure, Twombly says.

Many of the locations did not have bicycle racks. Those that did had styles that did not work as well as the new ones, he says.

He says it is “almost a necessity” to lock a bicycle to a rack if the rider is going indoors after riding the bike to the building. Each of the racks can hold four bicycles.

Twombly says City Hall’s pedestrian committee and the Share the Road group that promotes bicycling previously discussed installing new bicycle racks. He says the older types of racks are not as safe since only a front or rear tire could be secured.
“We needed not only more bike racks but a better bike (rack),” Twombly says.

The installations come as City Hall and activists promote Park City as a place friendly to pedestrians, bicyclists and others not driving cars. The local government plans to invest $15 million from a voter-authorized bond in upgrades like pedestrian-bicyclist tunnels.

The city, though, bought the racks with money already set aside for trails work, Twombly says, adding he expects City Hall to order additional racks later in 2008.

“There’s definitely a need and a desire of citizens to have them,” he says.

The racks were installed at about the same time as someone lost an expensive mountain bike to thieves. The Park City Police Department says someone stole a $6,000 bike manufactured by Trek. It was reported missing from a vendor area in Prospector during a mountain-biking conference.

Meanwhile, the Police Department indicates someone stole two mountain bikes from racks at the Racquet Club on June 26. The thefts were reported at 4:48 p.m. and 5:01 p.m. The police say the two bikes were not locked.

Still, Carolyn Frankenburg, who promotes bicycling with the activist group Share the Road, is pleased with the installations, saying places to secure bicycles are needed as the Park City area continues growing.

“I wouldn’t go anywhere and leave my bike unlocked. It’s getting too big. There are just too many people. It’s not the small town we once had,” says Frankenburg, who also served on a City Hall committee that suggested how the $15 million from the bond should be spent.

Frankenburg says the racks continue the local efforts to ease traffic by making Park City simpler to navigate for those not driving cars. She says they should be seen as complements to wider work City Hall is undertaking, such as improvements to sidewalks and other pedestrian-bicyclist routes.

“That’s what people want. They want to get out of their cars,” she says.