Deluxe bike lockers make life easier for cyclists
Just as the bikes have got better (and decidedly more expensive), so have amenities like the pens in which they are placed.
In this cycling city, bike lockers can be much more than the wooden or chain-link cages of yesteryear.
The bike locker complex at downtown Vancouver’s Oxford Place, for instance, has all the features you’d want if it’s raining.
There are driers for your wet clothes. You can rent cedar-lined lockers, equipped with motion-sensor LED lights, that are big enough to hang your bike and clothes. Plus, there’s a communal stand with tools to repair your bike.
There are three regular bike lockers that can accommodate up to 350 bikes that cyclists can use at no charge.
The deluxe bike lockers and amenities are located beneath Guinness Tower for people working in Guinness as well as the new MNP Tower, Oceanic Plaza and the Marine Building.
Usage drops during the rainy season to between 60 and 70 per cent, said Ted Mildon, senior leasing manager at Oxford Properties. But during the drier months, the lockers are at near capacity.
Mildon described the bike locker as an example of building facilities so good they entice people to change their habits.
“In my opinion, it’s truly an example of build-it-they-will-come,” he said. “Now, it’s a lot easier to make the trek than before.”