Recently 2 things happened to me regarding bike racks.
- I was downtown beside The Albion going to a Rock n’Roll show and could not believe how full the bike rack was! I usually park my moped beside bike racks – I couldn’t at this one.
- Yesterday Rachel the kids and I had to go to Stone Road Mall to return some things and as we were walking up to the mall I noticed another bike rack overflowing with bikes. Someone had just come up to it to lock up their bike and they shook their head and had to look around to find another spot.
I wonder is she did find one? Probably, but this brings me back to why Magda (Guelph Mercury) is right. She wrote an article earlier this month about the need for more bike racks. Here is the article for you.
There’s a serious shortage of parking in Guelph.
I encounter it nearly everywhere I go. I have trouble finding a spot at the grocery store. There are none at the hardware store I go to — I have to park next door. I cruise around downtown in search of one. I’ve all but given up parking at the Mercury’s often-filled lot.
It’s all because I’ve been riding a two-wheeler. And bicycle parking is in high demand this time of year.
As I sat in council chambers recently, listening to councillors and staff talk about the proposed parking garage for Wilson Street, I was struck with just how ironic this whole situation is.
I’m not saying there’s no need for a garage on Wilson Street — that’s up to council to decide. But staff say building the garage will likely cost $30,000 per parking spot. Putting that number itself into perspective is an interesting exercise. The city would break even if it hired a $60,000-a-year employee whose job it was to encourage just two people to keep their cars off the road.
Either way, I’ve got a real deal Guelph. I’ve found a way to cut down that $30,000 space to just $69.
By encouraging people to bike, of course.
A simple Google search brought up a five-bike rack for $345, or one for nine bikes for just $499. Of course, a competitive bidding process — which would no doubt be launched for the parking garage as well — could knock down the price significantly. Buying in bulk could help, too.
Think about it. Parking garage: $30,000 a space. Plus congestion and smog.
Bike rack: $69 a space. Plus a healthier population.
Am I missing something here?
Of course, parking a bike is easier than parking a car. You can lock it to a sign post. You can leave it on the sidewalk. In a pinch, you might even be able to bring it inside with you.
At the same time, a friend of mine recently suffered the negative outcomes of precisely such a decision. He was on the U of G campus, and locked his bike to the railing of a staircase outside the building. By the time he came back, someone had ripped up the railing and ridden off on his wheels.
There’s also the much-publicized case of Igor Kenk, owner of The Bicycle Clinic on Queen Street West in Toronto. Since Kenk’s arrest last month, police have seized 3,000 bikes from numerous locations associated with him, including his house, his used-bike shop and garages he rented around the city. He faces 58 drug and bike-theft related charges.
These situations are hardly encouraging for those braving alternate forms of transportation. Bike riders already have to negotiate traffic, battling vehicles dozens of times their size — to say nothing of that nasty Gordon Street hill, and of course the elements.
Getting drivers off the road benefits us all — bike riders, who stay fit by getting around; drivers, who are left dealing with less traffic; and taxpayers, who pay for fewer road expansions and of course smaller parking garages.
There will always be discomforts to riding a bike. The city can’t do anything about the wind or the rain.
But for $69 — or less — a parking spot, they certainly can make an effort to provide enough of them.
