Free bike rack program in Summit County is on a roll

Revently installed bike racks in front of Blind Dog. The city installed these racks through the Request-a-Rack program. Photo: Park City Municipal

PARK CITY, Utah — Summit County began its free bike rack program in 2021 to help encourage bike travel in and around Park City. It is a year-round program, but they only install racks May through October. So, now is a good time to apply.

Who can apply

All businesses in Summit County are eligible to apply for a bicycle rack. Plan to install racks on public or private property, ideally within 50 ft. of the building’s front entrance. The typical rack is an inverted U-rack, powder coated black and must be bolted into concrete. The number of racks available per business is space dependent. The managers will decide this on a case-by-case basis.

How to apply

Fill out a Request-A-Rack form. Summit County manages requests and installs at all businesses located outside of Park City, while Park City Municipal manages them within the city’s boundaries. Both use the same form. Once the form is filled out, either the County’s program manager (Senta Beyer) or Park City’s program manager (Anna Maki) contacts the business to schedule a site visit. During the site visit, they work with the business to determine the best location for bike parking. The racks are surface-mounted and need to be placed on a concrete or asphalt surface. Businesses have the option of pouring their own concrete pad for the bike racks; this not included in the program’s free services. The typical timeline from request to installation is between two weeks to a month but can be subject to change based on inventory and staff capacity.

How Request-A-Rack is funded

The free bike rack program is made possible through a partnership of Park City Municipal with Summit County. Summit County funds it through their third-quarter tax, enabling it to provide the bike racks to businesses for free.

The Request-a-Rack program is part of Summit County’s and Park City’s efforts to promote multimodal transportation by providing end-of-trip facilities, in this case safe parking for bicyclists.  Additional information about the program is located on Park City’s website.