More News

The large numbers of bicyclists who visit Brunswick will soon have appropriate places to park and lock up their bikes, thanks to the installation of eight U-shaped bike racks, made possible by a grant from the Community Foundation of Frederick County Inc.

Patrick Kay, executive director of the Brunswick Main Street Association, said cyclists currently have nowhere to park, and as a result, sidewalks are often cluttered with bicycles. The new racks will help to alleviate some of the clutter.

"People park their bikes near Mommer's Diner," he said. "On parking poles, meters, anywhere they can tie them up."

Jerry Cayford, design committee chair with the Main Street Association, wrote the application for the $1,000 grant last year.

Brunswick is located at Mile 55 of the 184.5-mile C&O Canal towpath. The national park was completed in 1850 and operated as a canal until 1924. Brunswick's visitors center, at 40 W. Potomac St., is one of six centers located along the towpath.

Cayford said the town's high level of traffic from bicyclists from the towpath made it an easy decision to cater to the visiting cyclists.

"We're getting more and more traffic off the towpath every summer," Cayford said. "It's really just a wonderful thing for the town for the bicyclists coming into town. It seems like a wonderful way to make them welcome."

The racks will be placed on Maple Avenue and under the Md. Route 17 bridge, where most visiting cyclists visit. Cayford said Mommer's Diner on Maple Avenue, and Beans in the Belfry café on Potomac Street, are two of the most popular destinations for cyclists who stop in the city to get lunch.

The installation date has not been finalized, as the location under the bridge is owned by the State Highway Administration, so permits are needed to complete the installation.

"The last part is lining up enough money to do the installation under the bridge," Cayford said. "That requires a slab to be poured. Brunswick Crossing is going to be donating part of the labor necessary to do that."

Kay said the town's location along the canal towpath makes it an obvious choice to work toward bringing in bike traffic.

"What Brunswick has, you've got a jam right there," Kay said. "You've got this awesome towpath, the bike path – it's a biker's paradise ... We get hundreds, if not thousands of bikers each week. If you get a chance to come into Brunswick on Friday, Saturday or Sunday around lunch, all the restaurants are packed."

Kay said the association involved the city from the start of the project, and that they will help to install the bike racks in town.

"Before we applied for them, we wanted to get the OK from the city," Kay said. "The city gave their approval to have them out there, and they also approved to install them for us. They've been very helpful about this."

The bike rack installation has at least one local rider excited at the prospect of the city reaching out to riders. Eric Stuyck, lives in Brunswick and is a member of Frederick Pedalers, a social bicycle club founded in 1972, which offers scheduled rides to its members many times throughout the year. He said he uses his bike to commute to work in Walkersville several times each week. He's been riding his bike since he was young, but got seriously back into the hobby about five years ago, when his daughter was born, as a way to get back into shape.

Stuyck said he's seen many people visit the city after coming in off the towpath, especially at local restaurants. The installation of the bike racks would be a nice encouragement for riders, he added.

"It'll be nice for them – a sign that they're a little more welcome here," Stuyck said. "That they're thought of as guests and not just happening to stop by and no one notices. I think that's a good thing."

E-mail Tripp Laino at tlaino@gazette.net.