Skip to main content

VIDEO: Cycle parking at the office is getting easier

Highway designers are increasingly asked to integrate cycle lanes and paths into their projects in major urban areas. And many commuting cyclists are grateful for it, too. But what happens when the cycle path ends, even if it is right outside the rider’s destination, such as his or her work place, be it an office building or factory? That last few metres are essential for completing the perfect commute. This means being able to park the bicycle in a secure environment.
September 7, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
Highway designers are increasingly asked to integrate cycle lanes and paths into their projects in major urban areas.

And many commuting cyclists are grateful for it, too.

But what happens when the cycle path ends, even if it is right outside the rider’s destination, such as his or her work place, be it an office building or factory?

That last few metres are essential for completing the perfect commute. This means being able to park the bicycle in a secure environment.

Over the past decade or so, more and more businesses have been designing cycle parking on the premises, as well as installing shower and change-room facilities – even drying areas for a cyclists rain-soaked clothes.

But it’s been a struggle allowing cyclist to bring their two-wheels into the office if that is the only place to keep it safe. In some cities, such as New York, it’s mandatory for business’s and property owners to allow this.

New York City’s Bikes in Buildings programme is to aid the Bicycle Access to Office Buildings Law that aims to increase bicycle commuting by providing cyclists secure parking their bicycles in or close to their workplaces. The programme allows tenants of office buildings to request bicycle access for their employees. In response to a request, a building owner or manager must either grant access or request an exception from the New York City Department of Transportation.

The law, however, applies only to commercial office buildings with at least one freight elevator. It does not apply to residential buildings or any other building that is not primarily composed of offices.

There could also be a downside to encouraging cycle commuting. Some people just don’t know when to leave their bicycle outside, as the video below shows.

In London, one property owner has gone one wheel-turn further by designing in a cycle ramp right into the office, as this %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal BBC video Visit BBC Website false http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34154520 false false%> shows. However, the cycle ramp at the refurbished Alphabeta building it may not be a ride for the faint-hearted.

Related Content

  • WASH AND GO
    February 9, 2018
    Our Skidmarks page is highly rated by readers. Your input could help make this page even more entertaining. If you come across any amusing road-related stories or pictures email me at [email protected]
  • Put your foot down, get home early from the office this Friday
    June 4, 2015
    Many cities want to show off their tourist credentials by driving tour operators around well-maintained, scenic routes and even make a video to lure travellers. But sometimes it pays to take a somewhat different line, as the Californian city of San Francisco did in 2012. San Francisco’s hilly streets became a global image for the Pacific coast city after the 1968 Hollywood blockbuster movie Bullitt. The star Steve McQueen, driving a fastback Ford Mustang, pursued at breakneck speed the villain, who was d
  • Angry wife tells husband it’s over with a message on a freeway billboard
    October 9, 2015
    Billboards are used to advertise everything, from toothpaste to airplanes and also to get a message across, such as don’t litter the highway. But one wife in Sheffield, United Kingdom, decided to make it personal, and tell her cheating husband that it was all over.
  • Video: Wheelchair user hitches car ride up a hill
    November 12, 2015
    A wheelchair user was recently caught hitching a ride up a hill in the Brazilian city of Salvador. It’s slow progress, as the video shows, and care was taken by the driver to deliver his “passenger”. It is not known if the wheelchair owner had to pay for his external ride. His feat was not the first time he has picked up a lift, according to media reports that quote some of his neighbours. Media have also said the city is one of Brazil’s worst for getting around if you are in a wheelchair. The head