Bike Box to be placed at Edgewater Park in the Spring

CLEVELAND– January 6, 2014 – LAND studio, Bike Cleveland, and the Charter One Foundation today announced that Cleveland Metroparks is the winner of a competition to determine the location for the final bike box to be placed in Cuyahoga County.  The final bike box will be placed at Edgewater Park in the new Lakefront Reservation this spring. The bike box is a repurposed, locally-sourced, shipping container that provides a safe public parking space for cyclists in heavily trafficked areas. 

“We are thrilled to be chosen as the recipient for the final bike box,” said Brian Zimmerman, Cleveland Metroparks CEO.  “We hope to see even more visitors to the park in 2014 and having resources for alternative transportation is a great way to increase exposure. Edgewater Park is part of the Cleveland community and we can’t wait to have innovative, locally sourced bike parking for park users to enjoy. We look forward to working with LAND studio, Bike Cleveland and Charter One throughout this project and appreciate their creative efforts to improving our community very much.”

In August 2012, the Charter One Foundation provided a grant to LAND studio through the bank’s Growing Communities initiative. The initiative aims to revitalize neighborhoods of low to moderate income with projects that demonstrate innovative solutions to community development, incorporate collaborative partnerships to improve life for residents, promote economic development through job creation and demonstrate a plan for long-term sustainability. Since 2010, Charter One’s Growing Communities initiative has contributed more than $600,000 to numerous Greater Cleveland projects.

The concept for the original Bike Box, located on West 25th Street next to Nano Brew, grew out of Ohio City’s fondness for cycling and the growing need for more bike parking. In 2012, LAND studio and Bike Cleveland, with funds from the Charter One Foundation, worked with local artisans at The Rustbelt Welding Company to design and build the first bike box.

Since 2012, the Cleveland neighborhoods of Tremont, Ohio City, Detroit-Shoreway and St. Clair-Superior have received bike boxes. A competition was announced this past summer to find a home for the final bike box. Neighborhoods, cities and nonprofit organizations submitted applications. A jury selected a winning organization based on several criteria including: visibility, current and future bike parking needs for proposed location, and ongoing educational and marketing efforts surrounding the bike box.

LAND studio will work with Cleveland Metroparks and Rustbelt Welding to design the bike box.  Once initial concepts are developed, there will be an opportunity for the public to provide input on those concepts and help determine the final design of the bike box.

Greg Peckham, LAND studio Managing Director explained “This has been a very collaborative project with our partners at Bike Cleveland, Charter One, Rustbelt Welding and the neighborhoods in which they are placed. The bike box should showcase the personality of its location. Each bike box so far has been designed with partner input and we want to the same to happen with the final box.”

The bike box encourages recreational and commuter cycling by providing safe, sheltered bike parking. Placed in strategi­cally visible locations to support existing and future bike parking needs, these repurposed shipping containers increase healthy transportation alternatives in and around Cleveland.