Since relocating to a building five times larger than the entire lot it used to be located on, The Mariposa Coop has near doubled its membership, and greatly increased sales, according to a store manager. With the uptick in commercial activity at this location, the City recently installed a bike corral with six upside down U-shaped figures for cyclists to lock their bikes outside Mariposa, located just shy of 49th and Baltimore.

Mariposa

The corral is one of a number of recently installed corrals around the city through the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities (MOTU). Others have been installed at Reading Terminal Market and the South Street Whole Foods, with others planned or already installed in front of Drinker’s Pub at 19th and Chestnut and Johnny Brendas at Frankford and Girard.

Bike Corrals are a popular addition to cities all over the country that face a shortage of bicycle parking, according to a press release. Bike corrals are large bike racks that provide a dozen bicycle parking spaces and differ from standard bicycle parking because the corral occupies a curbside parking space formerly used for a single car.

Bike corral, up close

The corrals, which also serve to promote bicycling, fit in with Mariposa’s mission to sell a variety of healthy products including organic, low-sodium, gluten-free and grass-fed items. The market’s membership has jumped to around 1500. When it relocated last spring, it operated with a nine person staff. That staff has near quadrupled, with 35 employees at present. Customers aren’t the only ones who need a place to put their bikes, ya know?

Our favorite bike corral, on Sydenham St., just below Walnut St.

MOTU solicited applications from businesses last spring and received eight completed applications. One can envision more of these corrals popping up across the city. Can you all think of other areas that would benefit?