Thank you for contacting me about obtaining a bicycle rack for Suncrest Middle School. I am chairman of the Morgantown Municipal Bicycle Board and our program is called Bike Morgantown. The Bicycle Board does not have a budget so we can't provide you funding for the bicycle rack. However, the following businesses which are Partners in Education with Suncrest Middle School may be able to help:

• Mylan

• Dynamic Physical Therapy

• Centra Bank

• Dan Ryan Builders.

If you can't get help from your school's Partners in Education, the National Center for Safe Routes to School has a grant program that might provide a mini-grant for your bike rack. You can find information on the program at http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/funding-portal/mini-grants/previous-recipients/spring-2012-0 . Getting a SRTS mini-grant will probably take many months, though.

If your Parent-Teacher-Group favors getting a bike rack, I'd also suggest that they contact Morgantown City Council for support. Last May, the Morgantown City Council unanimously adopted the Greater Morgantown Bicycle Plan, http://bikemorgantown.com/Plan/morgantown_bicycle_plan_v15.pdf . Establishing Safe Routes to School in Morgantown is one of the City's highest priority actions in the plan and having a secure place to store your bike when you've ridden safely to school is a logical part of that action.

I've attached Bicycle Parking Guidelines that might help you select an appropriate rack. All the racks shown in the attached guidelines are for short-term outdoor parking. To protect your bikes from weather, they should be placed under a roof. The following links from the Safe Routes To Schools program in the United Kingdom also offer some good ideas: http://www.sustrans.org.uk/assets/files/Safe%20Routes/resources/infosheets/SRS_cycle_parking_for_schools.pdf http://www.sustrans.org.uk/assets/files/Safe%20Routes/resources/toolkit/srs_sustainable_cycle_parking.pdf