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Better bike parking in prospect

14 October 2012. In a move which could lead to much improved bike parking facilities, Standards Australia is set to review AS 2890.3—the Australian Standard which applies to bicycle parking installations.

The current standard was established at the outset of Australia's bike riding boom.

It is now sadly out of date and not meeting the requirements of todays bike commuters, or the employers which offer their parking.

The current standard is contains loopholes and is abused by the sharp practice of some architects, property developers, builders, and even bike rack manufacturers.

The standard is supposed to ensure that bike racks are convenient, practical and enable bikes to be adequately secured by lock.

Council and State Government regulations typically require buildings to provide specific numbers of bike racks complying with the Australian Standard.

However Bicycle Network receives a constant stream of complaints about parking facilities contain racks which do not comply with the standard and are near to unusable.

These installations appear to serve no other purpose than to meet the specified number of racks in the building permit. The fact that the racks are not usable seems not to concern the developer or the rack supplier.

Standards Australia has indicated that it will consult with appropriate stakeholders once the review is formally underway.

Bicycle Network, which already designs and supplies bike parking hardware which complies with the current standard, will be advising the review on the changes required to the standard.

In the meantime, we will be working closely with interested and concerned local government agencies to ensure that the regulations and permits which apply to new developments are not 'gamed'.

More in Moreland

Moreland Council has replaced on-street car parking with bike parking in an innovative trial to increase customer numbers and convenience in local shopping precincts.  Parking for eight bikes (aka eight potential customers) has been installed in a space that would have previously been occupied by a single car in front of a café in Victoria St, Brunswick. The trial will run for three months.

“Anaconda” style bike parking rails are being used with the rails sourced from Bicycle Network Victoria’s Bike Parking Experts team.

The Moreland Mayor said the Anaconda’s were the perfect choice for the trial because they provided first class parking facilities, were easily transportable and allowed for the site to be easily reconfigured. “The trial is still underway but we’re hugely encouraged by what we’re seeing and hearing so far. We would anticipate more trials like this over the next few months,” the Mayor said.

Moreland is one of many cities around the world grappling for a solution to congestion and amenity issues.
Portland, a city of 580,000 in the north-western US, is currently saving about $1.2b a year as a result of a 20 year program to integrate bikes into their transportation system.

Bike parking has been a key element of Portland’s strategy. Moves to remove car parking spaces were initially resisted by traders but the initial scepticism vanished when shopkeepers saw that bike riders were good for business and the demand for bike parking facilities has now far outpaced the city’s ability to install them.
Nearly 10 per cent of all Portland’s transportation trips are now taken by bike and the city is investing to lift that figure to 25 per cent.

If you are interested in doing this in your local area, or finding out about what other types of rails are available please visit The Bike Parking Experts homepage.