Parking Meters Turning Into Bike Racks Along 7th & Flatbush Aves

If you’ve been down 7th Avenue or Flatbush Avenue in the past day or so, you may have noticed that a lot of the old single-space parking meters have lost their heads. According to Community Board 6, which checked in with the Department of Transportation for us, the meters along these strips will be converted into bike racks (like the one seen at the bottom of this post), though there’s no timetable for the work.

On all the former meters we saw yesterday, just this one had a sign warning cyclists not to lock their bikes there. You’ll notice that the date on the sign is for today, but that the meter’s head is already gone. Hope everyone’s bikes were okay!

You’ve probably already seen these types of bike racks around, as there are already some on both of those streets. About a year ago, meters started being converted along Flatbush Ave, and though we picked a photo of empty racks so you could see what they look like, many along both Flatbush and 7th were in use yesterday as we checked them out. Earlier this year, the DOT announced it was working with a contractor to convert 12,000 old meters into bike racks.

How do you like these racks as compared to other types? And are you looking forward to more bike parking in the area?