Make Your Church Bike-Friendly
Nov. 28th, 2021 12:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis article has some great ideas on making your church bike-friendly. Many of them will work for other places besides churches too, but churches are important community hubs.
1. Provide a bike map to the church on your website.
Provide a map and text directions for all of your area's travel modes: walking, biking, driving, bus and/or train as available. A medium church should have at least its own ADA minivan to help parishioners get there. If you are a large church, you need a bus stop with sheltered benches, and preferably your own large shuttlebus(es).
2. Supply good quality and ample bike parking on your property.
If at all possible, offer sheltered bike parking, because you expect people to be indoors for quite some time. That's plenty of time for the weather to change -- or bike thieves to prowl the parking lot.
3. Install a bike repair station on your property.
There's actually a cluster of such amenities: a repair station with tools, a bike lift repair rack, an air pump, and a bike wash. Offering stuff like this attracts bikers, especially if nobody else in the area is doing it. Even a small church can probably manage one of these.
4. Support the local bike-share program.
A medium to large church should try to get a hub rack for the local bike-share. If you don't have a bike-share in your area, consider starting one with free refurbished bikes.
5. Plan a Bike to Church day!
Good idea, especially for small to medium neighborhood churches.
6. Host a bike rodeo!
Or gymkhanas, an obstacle course, a race, a bike-a-thon for your church's charity works, etc.
I'll throw in one more suggestion: public or semi-public showers. Biking or walking can get sweaty, especially in hot weather. People appreciate a chance to shower and change before socializing. If your church also has services for the needy, you can use the same shower block for them too.
1. Provide a bike map to the church on your website.
Provide a map and text directions for all of your area's travel modes: walking, biking, driving, bus and/or train as available. A medium church should have at least its own ADA minivan to help parishioners get there. If you are a large church, you need a bus stop with sheltered benches, and preferably your own large shuttlebus(es).
2. Supply good quality and ample bike parking on your property.
If at all possible, offer sheltered bike parking, because you expect people to be indoors for quite some time. That's plenty of time for the weather to change -- or bike thieves to prowl the parking lot.
3. Install a bike repair station on your property.
There's actually a cluster of such amenities: a repair station with tools, a bike lift repair rack, an air pump, and a bike wash. Offering stuff like this attracts bikers, especially if nobody else in the area is doing it. Even a small church can probably manage one of these.
4. Support the local bike-share program.
A medium to large church should try to get a hub rack for the local bike-share. If you don't have a bike-share in your area, consider starting one with free refurbished bikes.
5. Plan a Bike to Church day!
Good idea, especially for small to medium neighborhood churches.
6. Host a bike rodeo!
Or gymkhanas, an obstacle course, a race, a bike-a-thon for your church's charity works, etc.
I'll throw in one more suggestion: public or semi-public showers. Biking or walking can get sweaty, especially in hot weather. People appreciate a chance to shower and change before socializing. If your church also has services for the needy, you can use the same shower block for them too.
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Date: 2021-11-28 02:15 pm (UTC)