You may have heard that we’re putting on a protected bike lane demonstration as part of Future Fair on June 3rd in downtown Bend, and in a word, we’re STOKED! What you may not have heard about is the fact that we’re also teaming up with Commute Options and the City of Bend to demonstrate a parklet. What’s a parklet, you ask?
Much like the photo above shows it’s taking a space that had been dedicated to cars and re-purposing to a more human-scaled. We’ll have hay bales to delineate the space (thanks to Sterling from Bend Electric Bikes), tables and chairs for lounging, some potted plants and art from Summit High School to create a bit of ambiance and some music (yeapers, real live music) to cap the mood.
We’ll have a keyboard available until 8pm, otherwise you’re welcome to bring your own instrument and show off your talents to the hordes to come out to Art Walk on a 1st Friday. If your interested in participating, click here to sign up for a 30 minute time slot.
The parklet is actually just one piece of the puzzle. All four corners of NW Franklin and NW Wall in downtown Bend will get a bit of a temporary make-over that will include two bike racks with valets courtesy of Bend Endurance Academy. The intersection will have four curb extensions installed to demonstrate how they increase safety. They create shorter crossing distances, reduce car traveling speeds, and increase visibility of those crossing streets. Those last two traits are why they make roads safer. As pedestrians crossing a street become more visible and cars travel more slowlyr, drivers are more likely to stop for people crossing the street.
Make sure you come down and check it out from 5 to 9pm. It will be station #3 on the Future Fair tour.
Date: June 3rd
Time: 5pm – 9pm
Location: NW Franklin & NW Wall, downtown Bend
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