If you’ve been past the Main Library recently, you may have noticed some bright yellow wheels alongside the porch. This colorful contribution is a brand new bike rack, courtesy of a local Eagle Scout candidate named Toby Lader. Toby reached out to us at the library with an idea to create a new bike rack and bike repair station at the library. We loved the idea so worked to find a suitable spot. A few designs and locations were considered and then we found the perfect spot — a confusing strip of cement that was in fact a bike rack once upon a time! It has narrow slits and small hoops, suitable for the type of bike often ridden back in the 1960s when the library was built.
Toby realized we needed something larger and sturdier to accommodate modern bikes and locks so he went back to the drawing board. He came up with an eye-catching and useful design that uses the forks from old bikes and transforms them into a new bike rack. It involved a lot of hard work and determination by Toby to do the design, the signage, the permitting, and the building of the bike rack. He got community groups and businesses to donate their time and expertise. Thank you to the project sponsors: Studio Eleven20, Lowe’s, Coalition for Appropriate Transportation, 4/4 Architecture, and CoWork 414.
See below for a picture of Toby and of the bike rack in use! The wheel on the left includes the message below:
This cement base has been here for as long as many Bethlehem residents can remember, but its use was unknown by many. Today, it is clearly a bike rack. Now producing a use for this base and support for cyclists, this bike rack also uses upcycled bike forks. Let's keep cycling central to Bethlehem! Eagle Scout Project by: Toby S. Lader, Troop 302
Awesome work, Toby!