(Update 02/07/12: Now in place onstreet…cheers to Alan for the pics https://twitter.com/AlanRiain/status/219768310697426944)
So we saw recently that in Helsinki they’re starting to put extra temporary cycle-parking onto the city streets for the ‘Summer’ half of the year (when more people cycle).
This got us thinking about a Beta, so we’re going to begin to look at the idea here also.
So we’re going to place one of the above car-shaped bike racks in the Beta Area (Dublin City Council currently owns two of them), and ask for your feedback.
We were looking at potential spots in the Beta Area and we decided to try out this spot on Capel Street as there seemed to be lots of bicycles locked onto various poles immediately around that spot.
This temporary bike stand will be put onto Capel Street during the week starting 2nd July (as all Betas, we’re not committing to any particular length of time).
So tell us what you think!
- Is there a need for more cycle-parking in Dublin?
- Do you like the idea of providing just enough bicycle-parking for the Winter 6 months of the year (avoiding over-cluttering streets), then temporarily increasing demand during the Summer 6 months of the year (when more people take to their bikes)?
- If there’s a need for more, are there any particular places where you’d like to see it?
- Anything else about cycle parking that you’d like to suggest to us?
There’s more general cycling info on http://www.dublincitycycling.ie/ if interested!
Dublin bikes were located at existing bicycle stands, which were then unfortunately not replaced. Mor city wide safe bike parking would be great, especially in this balmy weather.
Thanks for the feedback Grania!
@Grania in fairness to the city council, they have put in a good deal of extra bike parking in the last year — both the inverted U stands (known as Sheffield stands) and the Cycle Hoops on polls in the city centre. They are also looking at the possibility of high capacity bike parking in central locations.
Nice idea, but I don’t agree with the temporary nature. In Helsinki they have seasons and are pretty much guaranteed mild Summers and inches of snow in Winter making it impractical to cycle. Here in Ireland we don’t really have anything like that; it’s a bit colder in Winter, but it can rain as much at any time of the year. We have generally good weather for cycling, if you’re prepared with the right gear. Temporary spaces just feed incorrect assumptions and encourage people to shelve the bikes in the Winter months, when the reality is that the weather is probably no different.
Cian, permanent, high capacity parking is where I think the focus should be.
Cheers Cian.
Cheers Graham – All good comments.
I like this idea. Replacing a car space with 5 cycle spaces. As Kath n Kim might say “Go for it with your loife, mate”. Also a good point about seasonal demand for cycle parking spaces – hadnt considered that.
Why pink? The pole hoops are Dublin blue. Think of brand Cycling in Dublin.
Can we get Sheffield hoops inserted perpendicular or diagonal to pavement kerb rather than running with kerb and then often forming a barrier to crossing the street? Just a small thought. Improves aesthetics.
Good idea guys!
(also love the traffic box art work)
Hi Stephen, cheers for the reply.
Pink is just the colour that the Council owns, it’s just a Beta, so we’re not too worried about any branding. If it became a ‘real’ project, then it would be a good idea to think of that alright.
Suggestion noted…will go into the pot for future Betas.
Good design, good for increasing conversation about the bike parking issues, good idea to trial it, but if Dublin City Council owns two, why not trial both to increase the feedback? Also love the traffic box art work.
Thanks Lindsay! We just decided to hold onto one…for all we know we think of another Beta which might use a Car Bike Rack, or perhaps DCC might receive a request, or have a non-Beta reason, for using one.
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THIS IS GREAT! Sometimes it is quite difficult to find a good spot to lock up my bike around this area. Keep this operating for sure!!
More cycle parking is definitely needed in Dublin! It’s happened me plenty of times that existing cycle parking spaces are full (which in a way is good to see!) but we need more, lots more. I’ve seen the pink biek park car thingy a few times about the city and it totally stands out which is great. Highlightsing that one car space can hold 10 bikes is a good visual statement. Lets have more of these all aorund the city! Good work DCC beta
It might be an idea to actually leave a bike strapped into one for a bit.
Some “enterprising individual” strapped a sign saying “Recycling” to the one on Capel St. and when I saw it on Saturday evening last, there was already a big pile of bags of recycling where the bikes should be, which had been added to with bags of rubbish. Though it looked to be cleared for Sunday morning, the bags had started to appear again. Dublin, eh?
Good idea though.
Thanks Marie, great tip…helps towards another Beta that we’ve been thinking about a little.
Thanks Roberto and Rob for your feedback – great to hear!
Cycled past this on Capel St today – great idea!
I agree with the above comment about seasonal parking. Dublin is no less cyclable in winter than summer, so I see no reason for seasonal bike parking. The only thing I’d see for that would be perhaps to have seasonal spots at parks and beaches to encourage more people to cycle for leisure.
Glad to see some creative thinking out there!
Cheers Greenasil, good idea re the parks/beach etc.
i love the idea and the message… one car with frequently only one driver being directly replaced with 10 bicycle spots. The visual impact of the pink is fantastic, though i did assume it was connected to the hack the city exhibition currently being curated by the science gallery. I also prefer the off pavement location for bike parking. Less pedestrians squeezing by knocking into the bikes since most pavements on older streets havent been planned with space for bike parking in mind.
Thanks Jo, good points.
(The Council has owned two of them for the past few years – both pink!)
Love the project – quick query about Georges Street where it is very difficult to get parking, especially at the week-end, and there is no room for the bike stand – could it be put in loading bays??
Hi Ruth, you mean bicycle parking rather than car parking?
We specifically chose not to test it in a loading bay on Capel St so as to minimise business impact. If this idea (or some variation) was expanded – ie no longer a Beta – it theory there’s no reason it couldn’t be anywhere onstreet…would all depend on the specifics!
How about on Liffey Street/Henry Street near Arnotts side entrance. The existing bike stands are always full, and along Georges St/Wicklow street definatley need more spaces there.
Thanks Mary, v useful info. As a ‘Beta’ we wouldn’t test there (all in Beta Area), but if the idea is expanded…
Great idea.I’d say keep these all year round.One place that definitely needs some.bike parking is the promenade at Clontarf…and how about extending the Dublin bikes scheme out to there too.
Thanks Al
Think this and anything to encourage cycling is a great idea. Although as a few have said above not so sure whether cycling in Dublin should be season/weather dependent. With our fairly mild climate all year round cycling is easily possible. Think the bike parking in Drury street car park is another useful facility, maybe not that well advertised/known given people above have asked for more bike parking in Georges & Wicklow street area. More of that in the city centre would be great and some more of the on street bike parking in around Merrion row .
Anyway well done, loving the street art too and the Dublin cit council organised family fun day in Merrion square a few weeks back was a big hit in our family. Keep up the good work DCC Cheers
Thanks PTP, all good points.
(Re Drury, perhaps if you’re just popping into a shop for 5mins on George/Wicklow St, you’d prefer it nearer – but good point re advertising of it.)
Cheers for the encouragement!
Thanks dubcitybeta for all the feedback on the feedback. On your specific questions;
Is there a need for more cycle-parking in Dublin?
Yes – but there are plenty of ‘rad’ ideas that don’t involve closing off car parking. Try turning 180 degrees on google maps, then moving north by 200m and using some of the extra wide pavement thats also visible but currently taken up with bins, motorbikes and bikes locked to nothing very secure. Park your pink yoke there.
Do you like the idea of providing just enough bicycle-parking for the Winter 6 months of the year (avoiding over-cluttering streets), then temporarily increasing demand during the Summer 6 months of the year (when more people take to their bikes)?
Sure. Go for it. But lets not take Helsinki as a pet project – we can cycle all year in Dublin. A proper all year cycle parking strategy will do just nicely.
If there’s a need for more, are there any particular places where you’d like to see it?
I’d like to see it in places where there is lots of room which is not already devoted to tax paying car owners.
Anything else about cycle parking that you’d like to suggest to us?
Errm,…. why put the rack there. Its just not necessary to do so. Especially when there is so much space elsewhere.
An in-adaquate parking solution!!!. The “pink car shape” completely disables space on frame for more bicycles!!! I have just spent a day in on a bike Dublin, and was furious to discover the lack of bike parking in the city (Henry, Jervis, Mary Streets). Lamposts, once freely available on just about every street have been replaced by useless fat poles (flower stands, banner holders), too thick for a standard bicycle lock or u-lock. The two lamposts at the junction of Duke Street and Grafton St actually have sellotaped signs stating Dublin City Council will remove bicycles parked there!!!!!!
Good idea although I passed by it once and the local shops were using it to store their rubbish bags maybe they need to be asked to refrain from doing so.
I think the Council should be doing something to remove the large number of abandoned bicycles the appear to be at every bike stand location in the city. This small project could easily provide an additional 10-20% of extra bike parking at little or no additional cost.
Brilliant idea. Could we possibly use the car-shaped bike racks for Park(ing) Day this year, for a temporary “Parklet”?
Park(ing) Day Dublin on the 21st of September 2012, 10am to 4pm
Hi,
We are are pleased to hear that most of you like our car bike rack
We designed it to prove that you can get 10 bikes into one car parking space (you put one bike each side of the racks). It comes in different colours too.
Nicole it sounds like they need our ‘Cyclehoop’s’ in Dublin.
Check out our products at Cyclehoop.com
The Cyclehoop Team
We do have cyclehoops – and they are great ! If you notice we are listed as a client on your site. Dublin City Council have cleared pedestrianised steets of lamposts – so no posts for hoops … the new cyclist parking solutions seem to be “park and walk the rest of the way”
Hi Harriet, indeed there are Cyclehoops in Dublin.
Hi Nicole, essentially “not enough bicycle parking in Dublin, and in the right places” is your main point? What you’re describing is a ‘Need’… http://dubcitybeta.wordpress.com/about/ so let us look a little more into it?
More bicycle parking please. Is it possible to design a bike stand which is easier and a safer resting place for our bikes. Like I sometimes find it very awkward getting my u-lock though the bike wheel and the poles. Give me easy.
I may be in dream land here but considering the cost of bkes and how many are being stolen these days imagine having an alarmed bicycle space. A simple coded system would do.
How many people would go for that?
Hi Fiona, thanks for the suggestions – we’ve been looking at a few ideas along those lines and we’ll put something up here as soon as we can.
Just like a puppy is not just for Christmas, cycling is not just for summer. Cycling should be encouraged all year round, and the idea of making it safer for bikes only during the summer months reinforces this false notion that cycling in winter cannot be done. I have been living in Scandinavia (Copenhagen) for nearly three years. The winter weather here is much more severe than in Dublin, and the city is comparable in size, but there is no false notion that cold or rain or snow, for that matter, means taking the bike is not an option. I think half the problem of getting people on bikes is getting them over the psychological barriers. Policies that reinforce some of these barriers, like removing parking during winter, only serves to reinforce cycling reluctance too I think.
Love the flashy design of the parking rack! Make cycling high profile and attractive by using retro design. Encourage younger people, and the next generation will be fitter, healthier and the city will be cleaner and less cluttered. There is no downside to promoting cycling.
Thanks Sue.
We’d love to hear any suggestions that you might have for us based on your Copenhagen experiences…not necessarily cycling…anything! You’ve probably thought “isn’t that a great idea!” about something you’ve spotted. If so, we’d love to hear about it and your suggestions as to why it might make Dublin better.
My two favourite things about Copenhagen: the bakeries and the bikes!
I am not sure what can be done about introducing more bakeries with real fresh bread, rather than the awful factory produced white slice pan we all grew up with; but I do believe there is lots that can be done to make Dublin a really hip and trendy place by turning it into a cycling utopia! And the benefits of doing so impact the most important aspects of people’s lives: their health, well-being, stress levels, weight levels and even their wealth. Not to mention environmental benefits. I can see that there are real efforts to make cycling viable in the city and surrounds, but there are too many gaps. Too many cycle lanes that start and end abruptly. Cars being allowed park on the bike lanes (take Ranelagh / Milltown as a fine example of these 2 points). Cars are given beneficial treatment over bikes, and since it is always easier to hop into the car instead of taking the bike, people will choose the easiest option. It’s human nature. So real incentives need to be introduced, but these will only work if there is the infrastructure to back it up.
I have come to shudder at the term “joined up thinking” – it’s been bandied about the Irish airwaves and media for too long with no effect. Luckily I’m not a politician so perhaps my borrowing that beaten up sentiment will give it a bit of life – at least for this paragraph! Without a joined-up effort of the city and county councils investing in the infrastructure; and a massive campaign designed to address any and all of the psychological barriers people have to cycling on roads (including free bike safety courses to children in schools), and ideally a grand finale of all participating cities (competing against each other might be a good idea!) having a full week where all private vehicles are banned from the city centres and it becomes a fully bike friendly experience. Make it international news. Use it to push for tourism, quality of life, create jobs out of the work required to undertake this magical transformation! It was only a few decades ago that Copenhagen was a city for cars, but foresight and innovation turned this city into the incredible place it is today.
Little side note: next month I start writing a thesis paper on this very topic: looking at the practical and cognitive / psychological barriers the Dubliners have in relation to ditching the car and jumping in the saddle. Comparing and contrasting Dublin and Copenhagen, and trying to answer the why’s – when cycling seems such an obvious solution to many problems in Dublin. I will be keeping a close eye on your blog and other DCC blogs for information, so keep up the good work!
Thanks Sue!
If you were to do just one thing, and to start it in a fortnight’s time, what would you suggest? (Ie if you were to think big, but start small, what would you start with?)
Tough one! Top of my head… How about a city-wide competition between city centre businesses to compete for the most workers switching to use bikes to commute to work?
Have worthwhile incentive for the company that the workers will benefit from too. Get sponsorship from bike / sports shops all over the country and have free bikes and equipment as prizes. This will cut back on costs. Recruit volunteers from cycling clubs to assist with the work. Set up media partnerships to push up the profile of the scheme. Get celebs on board. Follow up with major surveys of issues the new cycling commuters ran into, and use that information as a springboard to fix and encourage.
How about in a fortnight’s time, ads are put out seeking volunteers with organisational skills, students seeking experience in coordinating events, people with experience and a willingness to make a change: recruit them to start discussions on how to organise such a competition and how they would like to see their city’s culture shaped by this.
Thanks Sue!