I stopped by Peacock Park in Coconut Grove this afternoon to check out the new bike rack unveiled yesterday by local artist David "Lebo" LeBatard. I rode my bike up & down McFarlane a few times trying to find this bike rack assuming it was going to be near the sidewalk and adjacent to the street. Needless to say I couldn't find it. I then rode my bike through the grass and saw a small cement wall at a distance near the skatepark. I supposed that could not possibly be the bike rack so I kept searching to no avail. I then asked a gentleman who appeared to work at the park if he could lead me to the bike rack that was made public yesterday. He pointed towards the back of the park and said "it was done by the artist Lebo, it's just a block of cement". I was like "you're kidding right, that wall back there is the bike rack?". "Yes" he exclaimed and went into his office. I went over to the "bike rack" to examine it and take a few pictures.






Upon first glance it appears that up to 8 bicycles can be locked up at a time. Supposedly the wall was going to accommodate a bench, hence the empty space. If the bench will not go up in the future then may I recommend the addition of extra horizontal U-shaped racks to the wall so it could quarter more bicycles. The space is already wasted with an empty wall, might as well make better use of it.

In these photos below I demonstrate the best way to protect your bike using a U-lock to this style of rack. You don't really have many options. By locking the rear rim & tire (inside triangle of frame) a thief cannot remove the back wheel or steal the bicycle. If you're using a larger U-lock you may get the rear wheel & seat tube. The front wheel is still subject to theft but a cable in conjunction with a U-lock can help prevent that. You can also secure a seat post using a cable.




Being that this bike rack is inside a park I wasn't hypercritical about it. If this was near the street/sidewalk I would publicly scorn it based on its misuse of space & lack of bicycle support. However, I think it's a good asset to those using the park. Whether you're there for a picnic, to play basketball or to use the skate ramps, enjoy.