The City of Windsor is planning to spend $4.1 million to improve the Goyeau Street and Pelissier Street parking garages and they are interested in hearing about changes that you’d like to see. Let’s make this a real game changer for cyclists. We propose that these parking garages include secure bicycle parking. We are not suggesting just tossing a bike rack into a parking space, we want to add well lit, well built, covered, secure parking to both garages. Imagine riding to work, to a restaurant or festival and not spending the entire time wondering if your bike has been stolen. There is no chance that bike parking will be added unless the City hears from you and many others. Please help make secure parking downtown a reality.
You only have until September 14th to tell the City that bike parking is the change what want! We have made it easy for you – Simply copy everything below the line, paste it into an email with the subject line “Parking garage improvements” and zip it off to this address – 311@citywindsor.ca
For good measure, cc your email to the Mayor and City Council! Click HERE for their addresses.
—————Copy everything below and paste it into an email to 311—————-
Bike theft is a serious problem, especially in downtown Windsor. Without the support and convenience of secure bike parking, cyclists soon have their bike stolen or feel discouraged and give up on their choice of a healthier, sustainable mode of transportation. We don’t want to ride downtown to work or to a restaurant or festival until we can be reasonably confident that we will have a bike to ride home. A cyclist must be able to find a place to park or store their bike efficiently, effectively, and securely.
Pelissier Street Garage
This garage is an opportunity to offer street-level, secure bicycle parking without sacrificing more than 2 1/2 vehicle spaces. Cyclists would enter from the Pelissier Street exit and immediately on the right (south end) would be a well lit, locked bicycle cage with bike racks and hangers allowing cyclists to securely double lock their bikes. Below is a rendering of what the new bike parking area might look like. Cyclists could be offered an affordable monthly pass or per visit fee (a buck a bike?) to gain access to the parking area. A public wifi enabled video camera could be added so cyclists could check on their bike through an app on their phone.
Goyeau Street Garage
There is no street level parking at the Goyeau Street garage so we propose that a portion of the empty ground floor office space be converted to a Bike Room (see example below). Bike rooms or cages restrict access to bicycle racks through an electronic keypad, security pass card or a similar type of system. The room must be fitted with good quality bicycle racks that are securely fixed in place. Tamper resistant video surveillance is important.
Adding bicycle parking facilities to the parking garages could also reduce congestion and parking issues downtown during festivals at the Riverfront Plaza.
Here are some considerations when building a bike room or cage that cyclists will want to use;
- Bike parking may go unused if it’s not more appealing to users than the nearest post and ring.
- Locate the bike room or cage near an exit and avoid stairs or narrow hallways.
- Provide both horizontal and vertical bike racks for maximum space efficiency and to fit different styles of bikes.
- The minimum recommended aisle width is 54 inches. This provides enough space for one person to walk one bike.
- To accommodate simultaneous users, the recommended minimum aisle width is 72 inches.
- Account for door clearance and entry and exit flows.
- Limit access to the bike room to authorized or paid users to increase security.
- Bike racks must enable both the bike frame and wheel to be locked to the rack.
- Ensure the bike room or cage has adequate lighting.
- Add one or more surveillance cameras for added security.
- Consider cameras that offer an “app” that allows cyclists to view the room remotely.
Please include well-built bicycle parking to the downtown parking garage improvements!