Living a cycling lifestyle… the on-line movement.

[Joe Chapline]

@DCLiz 7761 wrote:

My biggest barrier to biking more often is also not commonly sited: I live in a walk-up apartment building. While the landlord has provided a space for bikes in a locked room in the basement, hauling the bike in and out of the basement, up a narrow stairway with four turns, and through three doors is time consuming and unpleasant. If I had a secure place to keep my bike out of the elements on street level, I’m sure I would bike more often.

Convenient bike parking might become the hot new feature for apartment and office buildings competing for renters. There was an article about this in the New York Times last week:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/28/realestate/the-bicycle-muscles-in.html?pagewanted=all

Security against theft and vandalism may be an issue, but I don’t think the weather is that big a deal. For many years I locked my bike up outside my house or apartment. I told myself it didn’t make sense to rent extra space just so the bike wouldn’t get wet. I didn’t buy expensive bikes and I wasn’t very attached to whatever I was riding. I’m fortunate to have a walk-out basement now, so my two bikes are indoors. The car still stays outside.

[Joe Chapline]

There was a good post yesterday on Commute by Bike about how to convert more people to cycling. It touches on Interbike, marketing to new cyclists, and utility vs. sport/recreational cycling.

[KLizotte]

@DCLiz 7761 wrote:

My biggest barrier to biking more often is also not commonly sited: I live in a walk-up apartment building. While the landlord has provided a space for bikes in a locked room in the basement, hauling the bike in and out of the basement, up a narrow stairway with four turns, and through three doors is time consuming and unpleasant. If I had a secure place to keep my bike out of the elements on street level, I’m sure I would bike more often.

Perhaps biking has gotten popular enough that some entrepreneurs (or the local government) will start building secure bike parking “sheds” in neighborhoods (a good use for small, empty lots) where users would pay a monthly fee to park their bikes. Obviously security would be paramount.

[DCLiz]

@KLizotte 8108 wrote:

Perhaps biking has gotten popular enough that some entrepreneurs (or the local government) will start building secure bike parking “sheds” in neighborhoods (a good use for small, empty lots) where users would pay a monthly fee to park their bikes. Obviously security would be paramount.

That would be so fantastic. I tried to get a locker at the Eastern Market Metro, but they wouldn’t even take my name for the waiting list. Obviously the demand is there!

[DaveK]

@DCLiz 8129 wrote:

That would be so fantastic. I tried to get a locker at the Eastern Market Metro, but they wouldn’t even take my name for the waiting list. Obviously the demand is there!

That’s strange, I remember reading that demand had dropped in half at that location since they jacked up the fees last year. Metro is doing a comprehensive bike parking study, I’d call them back if you haven’t spoken to them in a while.

[5555624]

@DCLiz 8129 wrote:

That would be so fantastic. I tried to get a locker at the Eastern Market Metro, but they wouldn’t even take my name for the waiting list. Obviously the demand is there!

I’m not sure whether the chart is from 2010 or from closer to the articles August date, but it appears lockers would be available at Eastern Market.

http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/11554/after-price-increase-bike-locker-usage-plummets/#more

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