Park and stay awhile: Edmonton councillor calls for secure bike lots

Edmonton city councillor Michael Walters wants to create a safer, more secure place for bicycle commuters to store their wheels while they are at work or school.

Walters plans to raise a motion at council Tuesday, asking staff to study possibilities, options and different types of bike storage that could be provided to cyclists.

He thinks providing secure spots would encourage more people to commute by bike.

"We're making these investments in separate bike lanes and a quality bike grid," Walters said Monday.

"I think having parking spaces that really kindof relate to other modes of transportation, like the train particularly, are important."

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Walters said other citiesprovide bike lockers or enclosed parking lots, similar to car parking, where users pay a fee to leave their wheels. In Calgary cyclists can pay $10 a month plus GSTto park their bike in a secure lot.

Walters suggests the city could partner with a business, university, a mall or club on the lots.Ideally the lot would be adjacent to an LRT station.

"You [would]have access to it and other people don't people with bolt cutters. We want to keep those kinds of folks out of our bike parking lots."

Chris Chan, executive director of the Edmonton Bicycle Commuters Society, supportsthe idea.

"Bike theft is a huge issue in Edmonton," he said. "A lot of people stopped biking because their bike has been stolen, or they don't start at all because they know they don't have any place secure to park their bike."

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Chan said there are no secure spaces for bikes at park and ride stations and people aren't allowed to take their bikes on the LRT.

He thinks integrating bike parking with transit stations is a great idea.

"It would actually solve a lot of transit issues," he said.

Chan thinks downtown would bea priority area for installing secure bike parking.

Walters said he would like to explore areas around Century Park, SouthgateCentre, and the University of Alberta's south campus.

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Chan recommends locking bikes witha U-lock instead of a cable, which can be easily cut.

"A lot of bikes are stolen out of garages or backyards," he said.

He also recommends recording a bike'sserial numberto help get it back if it's stolen.

@natashariebe