Downtown Ferndale hosted Bike Night last Thursday, which featured the reveal of the city's first on-street bike parking rack.

The bike rack was created by local sculptor Richard Gage and accommodates 14 bikes in the space of one parking spot. It's the first of six on-street racks the DDA plans to install throughout the district.

The Downtown Ferndale Bike Shop offered free bike safety checks, and residents could apply for a bike license with the Ferndale Police Auxiliary.

Chris Hughes, communications manager for the Ferndale DDA, said it was a great night for downtown Ferndale for many reasons - including seeing the first on-street bike rack finally be put in place, to the public art aspect and the community partners like Western Market that participated in the event.

"It was really cool and there were lots of people in town that night," Hughes said. "It was a fun night. It was all about just walking around and seeing people and getting your bike checked and getting a license from the police auxiliary."

A "parklet" was also put in place for the event, where another parking space was used to make room for some public seating. "It was a very cool night," Hughes said.

The event was part of the DDA's Third Thursdays initiative, featuring the recurring Metro Detroit Street Eats food truck rally outside the Rust Belt Market, and shopping open until 9 p.m.

Thursday was also the first meet-up of Skirts, Heels and Wheels - a new women's bicycling group that celebrates riding bikes in everyday clothing.

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Do you ride your bike in Ferndale? Have you used the new bike parking rack yet? Tell us in the comments section below!