A rather creative turn on a bicycle rack from the new South End Library branch of the Greater Sudbury Public Library.
If you've been longing to get behind bars in Kitchener's downtown, wait no longer.
The City of Kitchener is inviting cyclists to apply for access to the "secure bike parking facility," aka the bike cage, in the parking garage on Charles and Benton streets. The bike cage has been finished for some time, but has basically been a storage place for the steeds of the Community Access Bicycle project. Now, those who have swipe card access will be able to park their two-wheelers here.
You can read about the parking facility and download the application form for a swipe card here.
I know that it must sound like our bicycle infrastructure is lame-o when I can get worked up about the addition of a single secure public bicycle storage, but our advances in this area have seemed to be very incremental, so I celebrate each one.
And of course, one need not be reminded that no one wanting to keep their bike for more than a day leaves it in bike cage without locking it up. Take a lock!
Couldn't resist snapping a couple of photos of this device at Velo-city Global 2012 here in Vancouver.
The BikeLid sells for about $1,895. It'll store two bikes. Here's Robin Duberow demonstrating how to open the BikeLid.
While the plan is to sell BikeLids to institutional clients (Boeing in Winnipeg has placed an order), this bicycle locker is also an option for regional transit authorities, condo projects or anyplace where outside bicycle storage is desired.
What sets BikeLid apart is the design (clearly) and the fact that it is unlikely to be used for any other purpose. There's a gap between the bottom of the cover and ground, rendering it unsuitable for "accommodation" or storage.
I've been off the grid for a week, visiting my bro in Phoenix. Some interesting bicycle infrastructure, including these very artistic interpretations of the standard post and ring bike rack, outside the Chase Bank in the Arcadia Crossing Shopping Centre.
The streets are not super-bicycle-friendly -- I'm pressed to remember more than a couple of signs indicating bike lanes, but there seemed to be plenty of bike lanes, most of them barely a metre wide if that, but separated by a distinct white paint strip, and the motoring public seemed to "get" the idea that you take care when passing a cyclist.
My brother, who has a couple of bikes for trails and roads, is a big fan of the rather rough and gritty paths along the irrigation canals that run through the city. You can read one rider's opinion here at the Crazy Guy on a Bike blog.
Clearly, the canal paths are not for skinny tires. But there were plenty of Lycra-clad riders on the main roads -- especially in Scottsdale and Tempe, and with the "dry heat," it takes a fair amount of work to appear sweaty. Remember to take lots of water.
A trip to the Kitchener Farmers' Market this morning got me thinking about the way we allocate spaces for bicycles.
Cyclists who come to the farmers' market are planning to leave with a lot of stuff, possibly loaded in panniers, more likely carried in backpacks. They don't want to haul the stuff a long distance, so park their bikes as near as possible to the main market area. And that means locking their bikes to the fencing around the market, particularly on the uper level.
As you might imagine, it doesn't take too many bikes to fill a straight line of fencing. So here's a solution, from my visit to Copenhagen last year.
Weld angled bike racking to the fencing, so that bicycles can back in or nose in. This is the upper level sidewalk above one of the main metro stations. A hugely busy bike parking area with efficient parking where the user wants it. Do the same at the Kitchener market and more cyclists will feel comfortable riding their bikes there.
If you want to encourage people to bicycle, you have to make the infrastructure so friendly, that motorists are envious. At your average shopping mall or grocery store, I often have to hunt around to find the bike racks. Often, the sidewalk furniture closest to the entry is the bench for the smokers!
Put bike racks right by the entrance of Market Square, Conestoga Mall, Rona, Zehrs. (I haven't found the bike rack at the Greenbrook Plaza in Kitchener. It's almost laughable that a plaza featuring a family medical practice, health-food pharmacy, fitness club, massage therapy practice and other health-related businesses doesn't have a bicycle rack.)
When considering designs for accesible elevation changes, you don't have to assume that cyclists will use the same ramps set up for wheelchairs and buggies. Bicycles have a longer wheelbase than wheelchairs, and any ramps I've seen with sharp turns in them usually don't have enough room for a bike to easily make the turn.
Although I would normally argue that a cyclist would like to limit his/her dismounts, I think the desire to get from A to B quickly might trump that. Then, this kind of retro-fit ramp would work:
Another example from Copenhagen. In the background, bike racks. A simple ramp. A lot of cyclists would ride on it. Certainly less expensive than pouring concrete. Much friendlier than having to dismount and bounce your bike up or down a few steps. Quicker than going around to the step-free entrance. Something like this from King Street up to the Farmers' Market would make that space more bicycle-friendly.
In Copenhagen, there were similar retro-fit ramps leading up to the street level from the metro station, probably a climb of 30 or more steps. The ramps were adjacent to the edge of the stairs, so the bicycle would be against the handrail side of the stairs, out of the way of other stair users. Where there was a ramp available (either a long grade or a switchback system), it seemed to me that more people chose the stairs with the bike ramp.
Just make it simple.
