GO unveils rush-hour bike parking « BikingToronto Forum

About this topic

Posted by Duncan 3 years ago. There are 4 posts. The latest reply is from claire.

Tags

Duncan
Moderator
Posted 3 years ago #
The GO station in Burlington is pretty isolated, and while there is a public transit stop at the station, the addition of more secure bicycle parking is a great idea.

I parked my bike for a few hours at the Port Credit GO station one night, beside me were a few bikes with unlocked quick-release seats and wheels. I'm not sure about overnight, but all the parts and bikes were still there around midnight... the bike parking is well lit, which helps.
1. GO unveils rush-hour bike parking
  
  Starting at Hamilton and Burlington stations
  September 18, 2009
  Carmela Fragomeni
  A new GO Transit pilot project in Hamilton and Burlington will allow cyclists a secure place to park their bikes when travelling by GO train or bus during rush hour.
  
  Cyclists can currently take their bikes with them on buses (on racks in front) and trains, but not during rush hour. They can also park their bikes at outside unsecured bike racks.
  
  The $85,000 new pilot gives cyclists the opportunity to double lock their bikes -- first onto an individual bike rack, and secondly in a glassed-in room that is locked and accessible only through a microchipped security key mechanism.
  
  The secure bike parking is available for $50 a year starting Oct. 1 and can be obtained through applications available on GO’s website, at the Hamilton and Burlington GO stations, and at Toronto’s Union Station customer service.
  
  The Hamilton station has 25 parking spots and there are 20 in Burlington.
  
  LINK
Duncan's City Ride - That's my blog about cycling in the city of Toronto, natch!
Duncan
Moderator
Posted 3 years ago #
And TheStar weighs in today with a whole lot of numbers that mean nothing. I appreciate that the GO rep who spoke to this reporter calls them on their terrible and pointless math.

While I understand this reporter's attempt to challenge these costs, she doesn't provide the cost of the mammoth parking structures being built for car, how much per car they cost and the fact that unlike the cycling "infrastructure" parking lots need pricey upkeep to maintain them over decades.
1. Pushing bicycle use comes with high price
  
  So how many cyclists use GO on a daily basis? About 800 out of 215,000 weekday riders, according to a news release issued Friday. That means the shelters cost about $3,700 per current cyclist.
  
  A GO spokeswoman points out that doing the math that way oversimplifies the issue, since each unsecured shelter has room for 20 bikes and there will be 2,000 new bike spots when the project is complete.
  
  "We've seen the number of people cycling to GO stations increase by about 20 per cent each year for the past three years. With growth of 20 per cent each year, those spots will be close to full in just five years," said Gillian Riddell.
  
  LINK
Duncan's City Ride - That's my blog about cycling in the city of Toronto, natch!
Duncan
Moderator
Posted 3 years ago #
Chris Ariens at RaisetheHammer.org offers up a rebuttal with the cost of creating free parking for cars.
1. The Star's Bias Against Cyclists
  
  I certainly encourage the Star and other news media to provide detail about the costs of providing secure parking for bicycles at GO stations. $1,800 or $3,700 per parking spot (depending on which facility you consider) seems like a lot of money to spend (with a $50/year charge it will take 36 years to pay back $1,800).
  
  However, the story fails to applied the same scrutiny to the cost of providing parking for automobiles.
  
  Back on February 17, 2009, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced an investment of $500 million in the GO Transit system. A large portion of that money - about $249 million - was dedicated to the construction of parking facilities.
  
  These new parking facilities would provide 6,800 new parking spaces across the GO system. If you do the math, that's a cost of over $36,000 per parking space - with no revenue from parking to offset the cost.
  
  Therefore, it costs taxpayers who subsidize GO Transit's capital budget ten times as much to provide parking for an automobile as it does for a bike.
  
  Now, doesn't "providing space for alternatives to the car" seem like a big bargain? Why on earth does the Star ignore this obvious fact?
  
  LINK
Duncan's City Ride - That's my blog about cycling in the city of Toronto, natch!
claire
Member
Posted 3 years ago #

Why do cyclists have to pay $50 per year to park their bikes when cars park for free? When you factor in the cost of snow removal, maintenance, lighting, security cameras etc. for parking spaces the cost far out weighs that of providing indoor parking for a handful of bikes. This falls under the category of "If You Build it They Will Come"
Case in point: Since June of this year, I ride to my stop, put my bike on the bus and bring it downtown, where I ride to work. I didn't do it in the last 15 years because the racks weren't on the buses. Years ago, I tried to ride to the Go station and get on the train. But the degree of theft and vandalism at the unattended station was too high, so I would carry my helmet and bike seat all the way to work. It was just too risky and inconvenient. Plus the bike rack was in a secluded,poorly lit area, totally exposed to the weather. Now there are some free ones that are covered and in plain sight. And guess what? There are more bike riders using these racks.