SUSTAINABILITY & ADVOCACY

3 Attributes of Well Designed Bike Parking

Dio Wong
Writer, The Urban Racks Blog

With the international upsurge in cycling due to growing urbanization, urban densification, rising cost of car ownership, the rise of e-bikes, and of course the global health pandemic, the need for properly implemented micromobility parking facilities have never been more essential.

When it comes to the urban landscape, sufficient solutions that create long-term mutual value do not come from hasty bargin-driven decisions.

But why is it so important to not just implement bike racks, but sufficiently implemented bike parking? What’s the difference between bike racks and bike parking? What are the chief differentiating factors between well designed and poorly designed bike parking?

In order to answer these questions, here are four indications of well-planed bike parking that will create both long term and short term mutual value between the end users and establishment.

Accessibility & Security

Above: Bikeep’s example of a secure yet accessible smart lockable bike dock

Above: An example of poorly organized, insecure, and inaccessible bike racks.

Nobody wants to walk through a clutter of bikes to retrieve their own bike and nobody ever enjoys coming back to their bike only to find that it’s been stolen. Preventing these two problems are absolutely impairitive when implementing bike parking facilities. These are two of the most common problems in bike parking, yet the solutions are rather straightforward.

– Implement lockable bike docks

– Allocate sufficient spacing between your racks and take into consideration the space bikes will take up when parked.

Adaptability

An attribute of well planned bike parking lies in its ability to adapt to new trends and standards.

Both e-bike usage and sales have been rising for the past couple of years, and have skyrocked since the coronavirus outbreak. As more and more people start to ride e-bikes and e-scooters, people are not going to be content with a bike rack or scooter dock that can’t charge a dead battery.

What are some solutions to this?

– Implementing wallplugs to accomodate for charging units in bike rooms and bike parking facilities.

– E-bike charging stations

– E-scooter charging docks

Thoughtful Design

Above: An example of well designed bike racks. Product: Urban Auclair

Above: An example of poorly designed bike racks.

One of the biggest differences between a product that is well designed and one that is poorly designed is it’s ability to communicate to the user what it wants them to do. It should make the user react instinctively and persuade them into using the product properly.

Instead of toaster racks that make what could have been 8 bike parking spaces turn into 4, one of the most most fundamental marks of well planned bike parking lies in the design of the product or rack itself.

Eager to ensure that your bike parking plan is sufficiently developed? Contact one of Urban Racks’ solution consultants for free help on your next bike parking project.

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