How Commuting Facilities Should Be

[Drago]

I would rearly love to see this sort of thing more often. Sadly businesses and organisations spend tens of thousands on each car parking bay, yet ask them to spend a tenner improving cycle provision...

My last posting before I left the dibble was a new purpose built building. Sadly the powers that be decided that penny pinching was more important than following their own crime prevention advice and they fitted inadequate racks and did so in an area with no natural surveillance. Unsurprisingly several bikes were piched and staff were reluctant to use them again, and the eejuts in charge took this under utilisation as an indication of unwillingness for staff to cycle to work and in turn used that as justification to spend even less at the next building. You couldn't make it up.

But I'm preaching to the choir here.

PS - the original photo is an obvious photoshop. The guy with the bike has trainers on but SLs on the bike, and the one legged lass is stretching to go for a run.

 

[lazybloke]

A bit naughty using a SS/FG/HG to avoid showing that the rear wheel support is a bit close (at best) to bashing a long cage rear derailleur. Also love the chain being so clean that they're happy to lock through it. Not the best double deck design I've seen. The usual red-handled ones used at GB train stations are better.

I was thinking the racks looked pretty much identical to those at GB train stations!

They worked just fine for me, when not full.

 

[fossyant]

We have a cycle 'hub' in one of the admin buildings. Down side it's in a basement, so you wheel the bike down a slot as you descent the steps. It's supposed to have lockers and showers, but no real drying facility - that's what you need. The issue is the hub is located on a far side of the campus, a good mile from me, and a good 5 minute walk from other buildings. It's great for those in that building though.

We've got bike lockers and a secure indoor bike parking facility. Except 90% of the lockers have 'old' d-locks on, and can't be used (owners long gone). As for changing, there is a single shower and a changing room that's not 'private' - not a good look when slapping on the sudocrem !

Otherwise it's the disabled loo, baby wipes, and shoving your kit on an 'acquired' oil radiator, that lives next to my desk ! - Down side of a climate controlled building - no-where to dry kit.

The facility looks great !

 

[DogmaStu]

https://www.theverge.com/23572761/amsterdam-underwater-bike-garage-future-of-transport

Amsterdam do it right.

I used to park my single-speed fixie in a parking multi-storey in the centre of the city. The racks work really well.

 

[mjr]

What's disappointing is that you post a whole bunch of criticism without bothering to find out the reality.

Did you miss the "If built as shown" on the start of the post? Or my comment in a later post about needing to see it in reality?

Anyway, you've now posted a picture of the reality and that makes it look like my conditional criticism was correct: if you cut out the bike on the tilted rack, rotate it and superimpose it with the front of the front tyre on the back of the tilted rack, then the back of the bike crashes into the bench/table by more than a quarter of a wheel:

You ain't gonna wheel that straight on/off the rack like you should be able to, and it doesn't look a particularly large frame. Can the benches be moved back to give sufficient clearance (so it's just careless placement), or are they bolted down (which suggests a design/planning error)?

The pillar shown in the second image on post #9 may be a more permanent problem.

What's more disappointing is some cyclists in this country defending defeat-snatched-from-the-jaws-of-victory shoot because even that's better than the deliberate refusals to provide anything which we often suffer.

 

[Hicky]

Mcr uni has a similar type of thing built near the aquatics centre....showers yet to be installed. The uni has shower facilities all over the place....the problem is those who use it allow "tailgaiters" ie thieves in and hence lies the problem....I take my bike into the office and always will.

 

[T4tomo]

Any "new development" office I worked in London in the last at least 15 years has had to include this sort of facility to get thru planning and they are great, some better than others, but rather than crying about how it isn't perfect you work with what you have. One building, once it filled up with tenants, didn't have enough locker space, so the management company installed some more after some complaints and badgering from like minded souls.

Those double decker racks work fine, and you find some users prefer the top deck, some prefer the bottom so no-one is humping bikes heavy bikes around against their will.

 

[mjr]

[...], but rather than crying about how it isn't perfect you work with what you have. One building, once it filled up with tenants, didn't have enough locker space, so the management company installed some more after some complaints and badgering from like minded souls.

Sounds like they installed some more after people "crying about how it isn't perfect" which shows why it's worth doing so.

Those double decker racks work fine, and you find some users prefer the top deck, some prefer the bottom so no-one is humping bikes heavy bikes around against their will.

Double decker racks work fine, if installed correctly. Those double decker racks aren't. No-one has to be "humping bikes" onto it: when a good design is installed properly, the top deck is roll-on/roll-off and the lift has hydraulic assistance. I prefer the top deck because I'm tall and risk banging my head while locking up on the lower deck, but I can't lift my utility bike up onto it.

 

[fossyant]

Mcr uni has a similar type of thing built near the aquatics centre....showers yet to be installed. The uni has shower facilities all over the place....the problem is those who use it allow "tailgaiters" ie thieves in and hence lies the problem....I take my bike into the office and always will.

That's the exact issue we had in the hub - tailgaied in with bike, propped door open, took their bike out and cut a 'cable' lock off a Liv road bike.

Will have to see what happens in September as our shelter is being opened to students as it's under used - 25-30 spaces and normally 5 or 6 bikes maximum. - I may start to use a locker instead.

 

[wiggydiggy]

This looks great, I'd love to have one near work I can use. There's some more pictures on the linkedin post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/soph...alderleypark-ugcPost-7047534156158787585-hVs5

Next time I cycle to the office I'll get some pictures of what I affectionately call 'the dungeon'.

 

[captain nemo1701]

While the poor man of Europe (us) might be lucky with a new Sheffield stand or two, in a parallel universe....
Dutch bike park

 

[Threevok]

While the poor man of Europe (us) might be lucky with a new Sheffield stand or two, in a parallel universe....
Dutch bike park

With facilities like that, it makes you wonder why so many of them choose to park in the canal