Wilmington - It’s Bay State Bike Week, and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council wants to remind its member cities and towns that they can get bike racks at no cost through the Regional Bicycle Parking Program. Wilmington is one of the area towns participating in the program.

The program, currently in its second year, has helped park 1,880 bikes in 550 bike racks across 27 of MAPC’s 101 communities, at a savings of more than $126,000 to those cities and towns.

“People need safe and convenient places to park their bikes. We’re offering a way for communities to get bike racks at little to no cost,” said Marc Draisen, MAPC’s executive director, who frequently bikes to work from Roslindale to Boston. “Gas prices are only going to get higher, and Bay State Bike Week is a good opportunity to encourage residents around the region to choose biking to get around.”

May is National Bike Month, dedicated to promoting biking as a way to improve health that costs little and helps to reduce traffic congestion and pollution.

The city of Somerville installed 50 racks throughout the city through the bike rack program, including places such as Davis, Union, Magoun and Ball squares and Broadway in East Somerville.

“I am thrilled that we are installing these new bike racks in business districts throughout the city,” said Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone. “Encouraging alternative transportation is an important part of our goal to establish Somerville as a green city and we want to support bicycle use as a healthy, energy-efficient alternative to driving. This is a small step, but an important one.”

The town of Maynard has also taken advantage of the program in conjunction with its efforts to improve the downtown area and develop the Assabet River Rail Trail.

“The development process for a trail is long, and the appearance of bicycle racks provides visible improvements for bicyclists, and heralds progress,” said Carolyn Britt, a consulting planner with Community Investment Associates, which helped Maynard with the project. “Maynard had the important assistance of Intel Corporation in covering the costs of shipping the racks, as well as the use of six cheerful employee volunteers to assist Maynard's DPW with the installation. The installation was just completed in mid-April and people have indicated they think the racks look good and it is great to have them.”

Other participating communities include: Arlington, Beverly, Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Dedham, Duxbury, Essex, Hingham, Hudson, Newton, Medford, Lexington, Lincoln, Reading, Salem, Sharon, Watertown, Topsfield, Wellesley, Weymouth and Wilmington.

MAPC, along with the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), the Executive Office of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration, announced the program in November 2006. The organizations are committed to encouraging bicycling as a means of transportation.

The program has two components: discount group purchasing contracts with three leading vendors of bicycle parking equipment, and a reimbursement program. Under the group purchasing contracts, Metro Boston communities, the MBTA, and the Department of Conservation and Recreation can order bicycle racks at a substantial discount directly from the vendors. These vendors offer a wide range of products, with bike parking suitable for every location and community. The reimbursement program is funded by federal transportation money allocated by the Boston Region MPO and matched by the Executive Office of Transportation. Member communities can be reimbursed for up to 100 percent of the cost of their bicycle racks. All 101 MAPC communities are considered “members” in this program. A full list of eligible communities can be viewed at: http://www.mapc.org/metro_area/the_region.html.

For detailed information on how to participate in this program, including catalogs of the available products and their prices, communities should visit: http://www.mapc.org/transportation/bike_parking_program/intro.html.

The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) is the regional planning agency for 101 metro Boston communities. MAPC promotes interlocal coordination and advocates for the region’s sustainable growth and development. MAPC serves as Vice Chair of the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), which makes funding decisions on regional highway and transit projects and certifies that these projects are consistent with national air quality standards. To learn more about MAPC, visit www.mapc.org.