I rode the Canada Line from the King Edward station last night and noticed these mud-brown boxes (pictured left) just outside the entrance. At first glance, they appeared to be electrical transformers. They’re actually bike lockers, 10 stalls in all. No signage. No way to access them without a key. No number to call for rental information. A bit of sleuthing reveals that C Media, a company contracted by TransLink, operates similar “lock and ride” boxes at many SkyTrain and West Coast Express stations. The lockers rent for three-month periods at a cost of $30 (plus GST and a security deposit). The lockers outside Canada Line stations won’t be operational until next week, with billing and rental agreements scheduled to start September 1. No details about this on C Media’s website yet, so it’s unclear how many lockers there are and which stations actually have them, but you can download the rental agreements and get the process going. The page is linked here.
Bicycle Parking at Canada Line Stations: A missed opportunity?
The Talk: Park This! Solutions and Inspirations for Bicycle Parking
Continuing our look at all things cycling… Tonight at 7 p.m. the Museum hosts a free, multimedia dialogue on bike parking. The format: three 10-minute presentations, each one animated by slides charting the most creative bicycle-parking designs worldwide and identifying best practices for Vancouver. On stage are: Adrian Witte, a transportation planner with Bunt Engineering; Stephanie Doerksen, an urban designer with VIA – Architecture; and Richard Campbell, principal of Third Wave Cycling. Smaller discussion groups and a reception (with cash bar) to follow.
In our own informal research on this subject, we’ve noticed that bike-parking design reveals much about place, politics, and civic culture. Two examples stand out.
