Bicycle racks with a North Little Rock logo sticker on them will begin cropping up in the city this summer outside businesses, churches and community organizations and within city parks to help residents incorporate more physical activity into their daily lives.
Through its Fit 2 Live initiative to promote healthier lifestyles, North Little Rock has purchased 88 bicycle racks that the city will install for community partners who apply to receive them.
The partners will be responsible for the upkeep of the racks, which must be publicly accessible and placed in areas where they don’t create a traffic hazard.
Legislation going before the North Little Rock City Council on Monday is the last step to implementing the community partner program. The city has already advertised the program and received interest from potential participants.
The city used part of a previous $1.51 million federal Communities Putting Prevention to Work obesity-prevention grant to buy the bike racks for $9,995, or $113.58 per rack including tax and shipping, said Bernadette Gunn Rhodes, the city’s Fit 2 Live coordinator. No city funds were used, she added.
“We’re looking to install them in front of businesses, in front of churches, in front of schools and other educational institutions, and will also be installing them in city parks,” Rhodes said Friday. “Anywhere someone would want to create a bike-friendly destination.”
The aim, Rhodes said, is to encourage physical activity as a daily routine, in addition to more healthful eating and exercise to help fight obesity.
According to 2012 statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30 percent of Arkansas adults are categorized as being obese. The CDC’s definition for overweight and obesity ranges are determined by using weight and height to calculate a body mass index (BMI) that, for most people, correlates with the amount of body fat, according to the CDC website, cdc.gov. An adult with a BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese.
“Much of the grant is aimed at decreasing obesity by increasing your healthy eating and physical activity,” she said, “The bike racks are meant to provide parking for folks who are using their bicycles for transportation, and as a way to encourage that activity.
“Part of staying at a healthy weight is incorporating physical activity in your everyday lifestyle,” Rhodes added. “Getting around by riding a bicycle is a great way to do that.”
Michael Tierney, owner of the Collector’s Edition Comics store, 3217 John F.Kennedy Blvd., in the city’s Park Hill district, has already planned with the city to place a city bike rack on the north side of his store, he said Friday. More bicyclists ride to or past his store now than anytime in its 21 yearsat that location, he said.
“You do see more of it now,” Tierney said of bicycles being used as local transportation. “I’m not a biker myself. I do have a few customers in the area who like to bike up here. Why not have bike racks to make it easier for the bikers?
“I’m more of a destination type of business,” he said of his comic-book store. “But I do have local customers, so it’s always good to make the store as accessible to them as I can.”
Anyone wanting a bike rack installed must apply to the Fit 2 Live office, 975-8777, said Rhodes, who will oversee the program and will be able to contract a “joint use agreement” with the community partners under the new legislation. The city will theninstall the rack upon request.
The addition of the bike racks will help with the city’s application next month to renew and possibly improve its bronze level Bicycle Friendly Community designation received in 2009 from the League of American Bicyclists, Rhodes said. The designation is reviewed every four years.
“We’re hoping to achieve a higher rating,” she said. “It’s a way of recognizing cities that make an effort to be bicycle-friendly for its residents.”
Arkansas, Pages 13 on 06/23/2013