Kim Davis
Sun
A recent report on cycling in metro Victoria suggests that trips by bikes increased 40 per cent between 2001 and 2006
In addition to such green features as dual-flush toilets, 100-per-cent wool carpeting and energy-efficient windows, buyers of an apartment in the First new-home project in Kitsilano will have the opportunity to take their sustainable style to the streets by purchasing, at a substantial discount, a jorg&olif “citybike.”
In offering this “amenity,” the First developer joins a growing list of developers and builders across North America who are responding to a nascent cycling culture that represents an increased interest in sustainable living.
Bicycle storage and parking is one of the first issues that comes up for developers and architects when they start to consider cyclists’ needs.
DON’T CAGE THEM IN
“We are building 1.8 [car] parking stalls per unit, and no one questions this, but when it comes to bikes, their storage is seen as ‘eating up space,’ ” jorg&olif’s Rob MacDonald says.
“Bike parking doesn’t need to be in a cage and, in fact, could result in saving on parking spaces.”
This could mean huge savings for builders and developers who currently spend as much as $40,000 on one underground parking stall, explains Detlef Beck, an executive with Vancity Enterprises and the Dockside Green development in Victoria.
Adamant about comprehensively addressing transportation issues, Dockside’s developers enlisted the services of John Luton of the Capital Bike and Walk Society to help them design and implement appropriate bicycle parking and storage facilities.
Luton says that more and more developers are taking cycling infrastructure into consideration, a result of mandatory formulas for bicycle parking in a growing number of communities and increasing new-home shopper demand for facilities.
Luton notes that a recent report on cycling in metro Victoria suggests that trips by bikes increased 40 per cent between 2001 and 2006.
Several large projects in Victoria have set out to address this growing number of cyclists, including the Hillside Shopping Centre and the Save-On Arena.
The latter is looking at installing a weather-protected parking facility for bikes that would include racks with integrated lockers to store riding gear.
“Things are getting better,” Luton reports, “and we are starting to see change as people gain a greater appreciation of health and wellness.”
Bicycle-maker MacDonald wants builders and developers to look at how their buyers are living and using the cycling infrastructure and in what ways they can make using a bike easier.
“Facilities need to be practical,” he says. “In Europe they are often outside and easily accessible. Though we haven’t reached that level of commitment here, we think it’s just a matter of time given the growing awareness of environmental issues and the desire for healthy, ‘greener’ lifestyles. We do anticipate the creation of facilities and programs that optimize and celebrate a cycling culture and lifestyle.”
THE THREE BS
MacDonald and partner Jane Cox have no shortage of ideas.
“Fleet bikes,” for example, are common in Europe and now are making their way across the Atlantic.
From small cafes to Nike’s corporate campus, from hotels to BC Hot House, a growing number of businesses provide employees and visitors to company premises bikes to run errands, make deliveries, and tour the local surroundings.
Through its Bikes for Better Business (B2B) program, jorg&olif have already helped create fleets for several local businesses, including Vancouver’s Opus Hotel and Zacharko Design Group.
“We foresee a lot of applications and momentum for this [type of program],” MacDonald says.
” . . . organic-food delivery-businesses [for example] could promote their services, as well as their environmental commitment, by using . . . bikes whenever possible.”
One hip Amsterdam-based Internet company, he reports, commanded the front page of the Dutch press when it put its fleet of red bikes, and more than 100 riders, into the downtown one day.
“With customized corporate license plates, the bikes not only serve a practical purpose, but act as ‘rolling billboards,’ ” MacDonald says.
OLYMPIC OPPORTUNITIES
During the 2010 Olympics, about 200,000 trips will probably be made daily to and from the Olympic Village.
Located on the south shore of False Creek, the village, accordingly, is located in an area of town already crisscrossed by an existing cycling network.
That location offers the perfect opportunity to make bicycles a key component of the Winter Games’ integrated transportation plan.
“South East False Creek is a no-brainer for pioneering innovative [cycling] ideas,” MacDonald says.
The new neighbourhood could exemplify the best in bicycle-friendly design.
And what could be a more appropriate post-Olympic legacy: Something that continues to pedal the health and wellness of residents for years to come.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
