Dear Editor:
There has been much work done to make cycling safer on our streets.
Bike lending/renting has been added and will be expanded to cargo bikes by the DNV. However, there is a significant missing element: how to safely secure a bike at a destination.
As a biker myself that wants to use my bike more for errands, I hesitate and more often than not opt for my car as I do not feel secure in the safety of my bike when I get to a destination. Will there be a bike rack? Is the rack in a safe place with high visibility? Often the answer is “no.”
I would like to see secure locking stations mandated to be installed at shopping malls and public spaces. I noted a “pay for locking” station at the SeaBus Terminal.
This needs to be available widely. Locks can be cut. We need more secure options that may require a small payment ($1?) but is tamper-proof. Similar to lockers that are available in gyms and hotel rooms, there is a combination/card access that perhaps secures a steel cage/bar around the bike. If tampered with, an alarm will sound.
In my mind, secure storage at a destination is the missing link to get more people out of their cars and onto their bikes for daily commuting and errands.
Ingrid Gutzmann
North Vancouver
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