It’s a common question for people considering traveling by bike: “If I ride there, am I going to have a place to park my bike when I arrive?” Thanks to Rackspotter, a new crowdsourcing tool that keeps track of bike rack locations, it’s easy to find the answer.

Photo by Brian Brewer on Flickr.

Rackspotter is a free tool sponsored by BikeArlington. It allows people to use their PC, Tablet, or smartphone to identify and note bike parking locations all over the region. All you have to do is log in, use either the available map or your phone’s GPS to pinpoint your location, and place a rack symbol on the map.

The site keeps track of details like the type of rack and how many parking spaces it provides. You can also upload and view photos of bike racks, along with specific comments or notes.

A screenshot of Rackspotter.

In the future, Rackspotter may include photos of existing racks (right now, you can only add photos when you create a new rack) and an option to flag racks that no longer exist or were placed erroneously.

In addition to helping with trip planning, Rackspotter could be of use for planning professionals when they’re looking to find gaps in bike parking coverage and install new racks.

What other uses can you think of? Is their other information about the racks that Rackspotter should be collecting?