Ithaca installs 12 new art bike racks in downtown, collegetown

Dog and Cat bike rack

Dog/Cat, a new art bike rack recently installed in downtown Ithaca, was inspired by Ivy Stevens-Gupta’s Maltese Poodle named Jadoo who regularly goes on walks around Ithaca with Steven-Gupta. “Ithaca is an extremely pet-friendly place and it seemed appropriate to represent animals on one of the bike racks. We have a no-kill shelter at our SPCA of Tompkins County and a wonderful Dog Park near Hangar Theater. My husband is an avid bike rider and loves cycling all over Ithaca,” says Ivy Stevens-Gupta. Steven-Gupta also designed the “Made for Each Other” bike rack back in 2017 (it looks like two, large, orange puzzle pieces).

New bike stations designed and fabricated by local artists

ITHACA, NY JUNE 7, 2021 — Locating bike parking around Ithaca just became easier. The City of Ithaca now has 12 more new art bike racks for cyclists to use in the downtown and Collegetown business districts.

The locations for the latest three-dimensional racks are as follows:

  • Ithaca Commons – 212 E. State St.

  • 301 East State St. – City Center/CTB

  • 408 North Albany St. – Alex Haley Pool

  • 417 West State St. – Kitchen Theatre

  • 516 West State St. – The Westy

  • 428 West Seneca and North Albany St. – Shortstop Deli

  • Collegetown – 100 Block Dryden

  • Collegetown – 410 Eddy Street – Mehak

These new racks were installed in May following the Art Bike Racks II Design Competition where community members submitted bike rack designs. Bike rack designs from local creators Carly Snell, Marie Gilbert, David Todd, Donna Kuhar, Heather Williams, Ivy Stevens-Gupta, Francis Oliver Eliot, Kathie Beale, and an anonymous individual designed the racks were selected among the dozens of contest entries. Then, they were fabricated by Teo Aceto, a skilled local artist and blacksmith. These latest racks are in addition to 12 stands that were installed downtown following a 2017 contest.

Led by Thomas Knipe, deputy director for Economic Development for the City of Ithaca and a cycling enthusiast, this project was completed in partnership between the City of Ithaca, Downtown Ithaca Alliance, and Bike Walk Tompkins, with financial support provided by an anonymous donor.

“With the Cayuga Waterfront Trail, Black Diamond Trail, Bike Boulevard Network, and other bike infrastructure and amenities, Ithaca is an extraordinary biking city. We’re also a crafty and creative community, so it made sense for us to pair the two in a friendly competition to gather more designs to fabricate additional racks. We’re thrilled to partner with Bike Walk Tompkins and the Downtown Ithaca Alliance on this project, and we thank everyone who submitted designs to this year’s competition.  We hope the public enjoys these 24 pieces of functional art for years to come,” says Knipe.

 “We participated in this project to help make our downtown community more accessible to cyclists. With more people opting to travel around by bike, many areas needed additional bicycle parking. Now there are a lot more locations for our cycling residents and guests to park their bikes while they come Downtown,” adds DIA Executive Director Gary Ferguson.

An event to recognize the artists and project organizers is currently being planned and will be announced soon.

You can also see a complete listing of the stands at https://ithacabikerackproject.wordpress.com, and a self-guided walking tour of the art bike racks is available on the free Pocketsights app for smartphone users.

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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Thomas Knipe, Deputy Director of Economic Development
City of Ithaca
tknipe@cityofithaca.org

Darlene M. Wilber, Communications Director
Downtown Ithaca Alliance
darlene@downtownithaca.com

ABOUT ITHACA’S ARTS RACKS COMPETITION: The Ithaca Art Bike Racks competition was initiated in 2017 to enhance downtown Ithaca with creative, functional art designed by and for the local community and encourage cycling as a desirable mode of transportation. This fun and unique project was conducted in partnership with the Downtown Ithaca Alliance (DIA), City of Ithaca Office of Economic Development and Department of Public Works, and Bike Walk Tompkins with support from a private donor.