Our long awaited bike rack is finally installed! On Wednesday, April 13, the Rack Pack project team & the 40 Below Public Art Task Force installed our Yellow Fellow inspired bike rack as part of a public art project along the Connective Corridor and beyond. The PATF “Rack Pack”already installed three racks: one in the Westcott area (on the corner of Westcott Street and Harvard Place, one on North Salina Street and a set at the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology in Armory Square. Since then, two more have been installed in Columbus Circle and at the Erie Canal Museum. According to an article on Syracuse Universities website,
“The Columbus Circle bike rack, to be located near the Mission Restaurant, features a three-set of colorful roosters. A signifier of good luck in many cultures, the roosters are designed to encourage residents and visitors who gather in Columbus Circle for many downtown festivals to celebrate Syracuse’s multi-ethnic mix of cuisine and cultures. The Erie Canal Museum bike racks features a mule pulling a canal barge, an image across three bicycle racks that will match the color and feel of the museum’s logo.
Why is this important?
“These racks provide infrastructure for the bicycling community, an artistic outlet for Syracuse’s creative community, and add a fun and interesting element to the streetscape,” says PATF Co-Chair Michael Giannattasio G’12, who received a M.F.A. in sculpture and has been an adjunct instructor in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. “As part of the Connective Corridor, these sculptural bike racks will encourage exercise and the use of a sustainable mode of transportation along the corridor. With the integration of these racks into the streetscape of Syracuse, we not only encourage bicycling, but will also beautify the streets.”
All of this work is in addition to Syracuse’s first green bike pathway, which runs from Syracuse University through downtown Syracuse.