Wheel Cool: Painted Bike Racks Beautify Midtown

Bicycle riders in Midtown and other parts of the city can now get their roll on in style.

Colorful bike racks can be found around some of the city's major thoroughfares, thanks to a group of artists who partnered with the city. You can find the murals in 18 prominent places around the city, such as on Georgia Tech's campus and at the Varsity.

The project began as an olive branch to the city's bicycle community and has turned into a colorful addition to Atlanta's landscape that all can enjoy, Hannah Leathers, the public art project coordinator for the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs, told Patch on Wednesday.

She said city staffers brainstormed with the city's newly appointed Chief Bicycle Officer Becky Katz to come up with the idea.

"I thought, 'Why don't we create some bike racks?'" Leathers said. She said she had seen public projects that included sculpted bike racks but not painted ones.

Thus, the "Mural Bike Rack Project" started rolling.

Leathers said that while many cities put public art to good use, relatively few of them use the opportunity to improve bike infrastructure.

The city received inquiries from 55 artists to do 18 murals. After the list was whittled down, the project began in earnest. The last of the murals was completed just last week.

Leathers said that the city wants to engage with local artists more for public projects. "We'll be looking for more opportunities in the future."

Check out the complete list of colorful bike racks around the city. And more of the murals on Public Art Atlanta Facebook page and Instagram account.

Images Courtesy of Hannah Leathers