Stop press: the ‘cage’ started going in today.
The saga of bicycle storage on the estate is finally moving towards some action. City South have for a long time wanted to get bikes off stairwell railings; the bike storage sub-group have been insistent that a decent secure alternative has to be provided before they enforce a ban.
It’s tricky because some blocks have space in the store rooms, others don’t even have these ‘pram rooms’ to fit any racks in. So it has to be a variety of solutions across the estate – Sheffield stands where there’s room to start with, and outdoor secure storage where there’s no space in blocks and it’s possible/appropriate. Beyond that, we’ll be pushing for imaginative solutions so all residents present and future have enough space to safely lock-up their bicycles.
Though residents expressed strong misgivings about lock-ups in the walk-throughs, which we clearly conveyed, with the limited money and options CSM have, this is what they’ve decided to go for. They’re starting with one pilot in the Hunmanby walk-through next to block numbers 56-62. There’ll be 8 Sheffield stands inside (ie provision for 16 bikes, or if you’ve got two you can lock them up overlapping and get more in) and it’ll be a floor-to-ceiling steel cage with a door with a strong lock and extra safety lighting. There’ll be a key scheme with deposit. It’s currently being constructed off-site, and hopefully will be installed around the end of the month. We’ll see what’s working and what isn’t over a number of months, in case changes need making and before another one is installed in the Hunmanby walk-through nearer Hulme Street.
Sheffield stands have been ordered for a first wave of blocks, and they’ll be fitted by the end of the year, starting on the odd-numbered side of Hunmanby, at the Clarendon Street end; this initial phase will see them being installed half way along the avenue. Again, this is a pilot to see how they are used, and haven’t learnt from that, more should roll out sometime into the New Year. There are a number of relevant factors that will impact this: money available, and what is physically possible in your block.
Once implemented estate wide, there’ll be no locking bikes on stair railings for safety reasons, and CSM intend to enforce this. After a four year saga working for good solutions that all will be happy with, we’re a little worn down and glad something’s actually going to happen; there’s been compromises made on both sides! If you’d like to join in in getting
the best we can, drop us a line at bike-storage @ redbricks.org
PS if you’ve wondered what’s going on on the ceilings of the
walk-throughs, insulation is being fitted.
