Bike repair stations installed in Island and Nelson parks, downtown

Retractable tools. An airpump. There’s even a QR code bicyclists can scan with their smartphones, immediately bringing up instructions for how to operate the bike repair station. There's a reason these bike repair stations are considered "Deluxe."

When Chris Bundy says that the city put in a lot of research before purchasing the right bicycle repair station, it shows.

Bundy, Director of Parks & Public Spaces for Mt. Pleasant, had three bicycle repair stations installed throughout the city recently, made possible in part through a grant from the Mt. Pleasant Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The Deluxe Public Works Bike Stand, manufactured by Bike Fixation SARIS Infrastructure, is among the best on the market, touts Bundy.

They seem to be popular. Bundy says he observed bicyclists using them the first day they were installed. He also received a call from Eric Urbaniak, a student at Central Michigan University who is working on sustainability projects. Urbaniak hopes to find grant money to install the bike repair stations on campus.

The bike repair stations have been installed at Island Park, Nelson Park, and Town Centre. There are no immediate plans for more, though that could change.

Three bike repair stations have been installed in the community.
"Let’s see how these go first, see what kind of feedback we get," Bundy says.

"Though I think we got pretty good feedback already, just from watching people use them and the response from CMU."

While installation of the bike repair stations was initially planned for the beginning of the summer, the COVID-19 pandemic delayed progress until late July.

Bundy says that the three locations were selected because of their potential for high visibility and use.

"We use bikes in park maintenance and have bikes all around the community. We have five major parks along the Chippewa River, connected by the Riverwalk Trail. It’s easy to travel by bicycles here," Bundy says.

"We would like to encourage even more biking in the community. Biking is one thing that you can still do during a pandemic.

"With more people being outside, it makes the repair stations even more relevant."

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