OC TRANSPO has installed the new bike shelter at Bayview Station.
It does not have a glass wall on the “back” side of it, but nor is the back side readily accessible for cyclists while there is loose dirt/mud. Presumably, if no glass back wall is installed, and the grass grows, some cyclists can use the rack from the back side but at the cost of losing out on the roof.
Is it safe to suggest this is another one-sided front-in only bike shelter? In which case, it holds six bikes. After we spend millions on the new Bayview LRT and indoor-transfer-by-escalator to the O-Train platform, the city plans to increase bike parking capacity to eight bikes.
One of the best things about installing these shelters now, several years before the LRT opens, is that it may help establish the correct number of bike spaces that needs to be provided. Of course, patronage will be different after the conversion to LRT, and after a several year hiatus when the transitway is closed, in order to be converted to LRT, during which time the shelter will be unused. And of course, anyone counting bikes has to wander away from the station, as for stations such as LeBreton, few people park their bikes at the station but a number do several blocks away, on the residential streets, where presumably seeing eyes make parking safer.
I think the best bet for OC Transpo is to reinstall some of the freestanding, unroofed metal bike racks near the shelters, for “overflow” parking. In this way, they get a readily visible measure of how far short of demand they are falling. If there are no adjacent bike racks or posts, they won’t have a visible measure of their shortfall as people may park further away, or not bring their bikes at all.
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PS did anyone notice that this bike shelter increases the total Bayview Station shelter space by about 50%?
I like the glass roof to let in all the light. But how much protection will these shelters actually offer? The openings are to the west and east; most summer winds come from the west or north-west. The means the bikes are still going to get wet. I love the concept though!
Why couldn’t they locate it closer to the People Shelter, to serve as overflow space when not being used for bikes?
Why doesn’t OC Transpo give half a rat’s ass about its People Shelter?
Same shelter was being put in by the “smoking corner” at Billings Bridge.
Why does it have the concrete walls? They are very convenient for a bike thief to duck under when attacking the lock. I’m not really sure why a bike needs a shelter in any event.
concrete walls… hm… cheaper and less breakable than glass? anchors the shelter so it wont blow away?