PORTLAND -- There will be fewer places to park your car in downtown Portland starting Friday morning.

Two parking spaces were being swapped out for four new bike corrals. The move was all part of a larger, annual event.

It is national parking day and turning car parking to bike parking could not come at a better time, with bicycle commuters on the rise in Portland, said organizers. The new on-street bicycle parking facilities, also known as bike corrals, can fit up to 24 bikes in two former car parking spots.

They don't just serve bike riders, it is also beneficial for people on the sidewalk, said Cheryl Kuck with the Portland Office of Transportation, “since people often lock their bikes onto signs and railings... This has already proven to be successful in other locations in north and southeast Portland."

Here are the locations where the new bike corrals will be located:

- Ace Hotel at SW 10th Avenue and SW Stark Street

- Stumptown Coffee at SW Third Avenue at SW Pine Street

- Powell’s Books on the south side of NW Couch Street at NW 11th Avenue

- Southpark Seafood Grill and Wine Bar on west side of SW 9th Avenue and SW Park at SW Salmon Street.

You may have noticed, there are more people commuting by bike these days, not just because of high gas prices, but because the bike commute challenge is happening all this month.

The event will also close part of SW 5th Avenue Friday, while participants decorate more than a dozen parking spaces on the street between Washington and Alder. Sod grass will be rolled out for one day, turning the area into a park for the day.