David Byrne’s NYC Bike Racks. What Shape Would You Choose?

"Ladies Mile," a new bike rack by David Byrne. Photo courtesy of the New York Department of Transporation.

If the work of David Byrne -- artist, musician, bicycling enthusiast -- were to be simply described, it could be said that it possesses a deceptive ease. Or that it often captures an emerging cultural voice. And now -- well, now it's hard as steel.

As of last Friday, nine bike racks of Byrne's design were installed around the city. They are made of the conventional bike-rack tubing, and some appear in the same unpainted grey. The convention, thankfully, ends there.

Mr. Byrnes designed his racks to reflect the character of the neighborhoods they were installed in: Near the Lincoln Tunnel is "The Car"; in Wall Street a dollar sign; in Williamsburg an electric guitar; and by Bergdorf Goodman a single high-heeled shoe. There are others: a coffee mug, a dog, and even an abstraction near the Museum of Modern Art.

Impossible as it may feel to describe steel as soft, the designs are just that; they defy not only our sense of the physical properties of metal, but our expectation of what bike racks are meant to be. We are used to the lifeless shapes of bike racks, crafted more from civic necessity than from civic pride. Uninspired as they usually are, bike racks fail to inspire citizens to take to a bike.

Byrne cleverly reframes this relationship. The shapes are as the invitation is meant to be: soft, clever, funny even. As one colleague put it, "It's enough to make you want to jump on your bike and, er, park it."

This is what is so timely about Mr. Byrne's new designs. At a time when fuel prices are high, more Americans are driving less. According to a study released this March, U.S. motorists are driving less this year for the first time in 25 years. More people are taking public transportation as a result, and more people are riding their bikes.

All this means people are reevaluating their relationship with their cars. And so Byrne's racks come at the precise moment people are dusting off their bikes, and reconsidering their relationship to their bike. It's hard to describe precisely what Byrne's designs have done for biking, but to judge from the from all the online chatter, they have provided biking with a symbol of civic pride. From metal to metal, he's made something entirely different of old material.

Their creation traces back to Byrne's reputation in certain parts of NYC -- the Lower East Side, most notably -- as the figure seen gliding past on his bike. It's an avocation that has, happily for us, unexpectedly for him, become something of a vocation.

The Department of Transportation originally asked Byrne to judge the competition. He was so excited by the idea that he submitted his own designs which have, by all accounts, surpassed the competition before it even got started.  

But it got me wondering: What kind of bike racks would I design? Are there any environmental ones you would design?

Maybe a tree for central park?

A pig, or a carrot, for the Union Square farmer's market?

Or a sailboat for along the Hudson bike path?

How about a key for Gramercy Park? A trumpet for 125th St?

And where's the cube of sugar on a tongue?

Anyone have any ideas? Post your suggestions in a comment!

UPDATE (01/10/08):

The 10 finalists for the competition have been announced, with models installed at Astor Place, by the Cube. You can read more about it at the New York Times City Room.