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Nearly 500 new bike racks to be installed around the city

City officials say the bike racks will take three months to install and will only be on the sidewalks or non-parking areas so as not to take up any parking spots.

Monday, the city began installing nearly 500 bike racks in response to the growing demand for bike infrastructure. It's a part of multiple city programs to make New Orleans more bike-friendly.

Some of these projects are good for everyone.

"Bike parking is a really efficient use of public space as far as accommodating lots of people and in terms of all the benefits it brings," Dan Favre with Bike Easy said.

Marin Tockham with Dashing Bicycles and Accessories agreed.

"I think it's great that New Orleans is finally installing bike racks to keep up with the amount of ridership we have in New Orleans," Tockham said.

But other bike-friendly projects have resulted in unintended consequences.

"They don't really think through the processes they set into effect, but that is the city of New Orleans. You can love it a lot but it probably won't love you back," A Bicycle Named Desire owner Cassady Cooper said.

A Bicycle Named Desire is closing down after struggling to compete with national rental companies in the city.

"We've had about a 60 percent loss in business since the Blue Bikes came on, I mean a nonfeasible loss of business. We'll be closing in November," Cooper said. "I think we're definitely the 2nd bike rental company closing because of Blue Bikes."

Cooper says the city should have a better understanding of how the policies it implements will impact locals. He's excited about the new bike racks but says his business won't be able to take advantage of the program.

"I think bike racks are great, I think bike lanes are great but it's definitely too late for us," Cooper said.

A city spokesperson told WWL-TV he didn't have time to address the issues with the Blue Bikes. He did say that the bike racks will take three months to install and will only be on the sidewalks or non-parking areas so as not to take up any parking spots.

Lauren Bale can be reached at lbale@wwltv.com.

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