A bike rack and a home for wildlife: Market gets a little greener

The Charlottetown Farmers Market wants more people to bike to the market, so it's building an environmentally-friendly bike rack.

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The structure will have a living roof and the sides will be built out of logs will holes in them to encourage bees to nest.

It will be able to accommodate at least 10 bikes, which market manager Bernie Plourde said is one way to deal with a parking problem at the market.

"I know ten or 12 spots for bicycles may not make a big dent in the amount of traffic that comes to the market, but we're hoping it's a start," said Plourde.

"Maybe we can build upon that next year and put in more racks."

The Farmers Market received a $2,500 sustainability micro-grant from the City of Charlottetown to do the work.

Improving efficiency

Plourde said the market is also going to better delineate parking spaces, which he hopes will create spaces for up to 40 more cars.

They're still exploring the best way to do this. The ropes and stanchions used last year, he said, were a bit of an eyesore.

The new parking measures should be in place by June or July.

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