Press release:

What a great day Saturday, June 29, for 100 people to cut some ribbon and celebrate. With the new bike racks in Burien and all the community support, (in addition to the warm, sunny day),there was much to applaud . The group of 100 spilled out in 4 vacated parking spots, as well as along the sidewalk.

WABI Burien and the City of Burien held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the success of the Downtown Burien Bike Rack Project. The ceremony was attended by Burien Mayor Brian Bennett, City Councilmember Rose Clark, Department Director of PaRCS Michael Lafreniere, the 6 WABI Board members, some of the bike rack sponsors and folks from all over town.
The ceremony was held in front of Bumbershoot Books in the heart of Burien. The book shop is one of the bike rack sponsors and represents the type of small, local business that benefits from the “Buy Burien By Bike” idea. By providing bike racks to lock to, we’re encouraging people to hop on their bikes and “shop local”.

The business and greater community was very generous in its support of this project. Folks clamored to quickly sponsor all 41 bike racks and will have their custom plaques mounted to the rack(s) they chose. Funds from their sponsorships will go toward furthering this and other projects for the benefit of cyclists and walkers in Burien. Some businesses sponsored bike racks AND gave discounts AND donated raffle items AND provided refreshments! Such a testament to the generosity of this community…

All those attending the ceremony were given a “Shop Local Discount Sheet” with 11 special discounts for goods and services. Local businesses also provided refreshments for those gathered to celebrate. Freggies donated organic apples and bananas. Maven Mercantile (opening a Burien location in September next to Bumbershoot) made delicious slider sandwiches and cookies. (Mmm. Smoked Salmon and Arugula.) And our very dedicated, local rep from our bike rack manufacturer, Teresa Matthews from Urban Racks, brought mini-cupcakes from Oliver’s Bite, (plus her own homemade bike cookies).

It was a thrill to see such a cluster of bikes and people in Burien. Perhaps the moment they were all most waiting for was the start of the FREE raffle. Items donated for the raffle included:

Two $10 gift cards from 909 Coffee & Wine

One Pinarello Italian Cycling Cap, just in from Italy by Maureen
One $25 gift card from Burien Press

Two 1-hour massages from Collins Chiropractic

Kryptonite Bicycle U-Lock, donated by the Highline High School Class of ’75

One grand prize of a sparkling new-and-royal-blue Trek Classic Cruiser Bike
Single Speed, 19″, Coaster Brakes, (msrp. of $359.99)
from Trek Bicycle Store | Southcenter

The grand-prize bike was won by Gail Rongey. She and her husband sponsor one of the bike racks.

WABI Burien sends out a big “Thank You!” to the City of Burien for its support of this project and cycling in town; to all the businesses and individuals that came forward so freely to participate in this effort; and to our community citizens that attended the ceremony to applaud the occasion.