Alewife Station’s Bike Cage: Cambridge, Mass.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Alewife Station’s Bike Cage: Cambridge, Mass.

In the greater Boston area, a secure bike parking facility for bikes has been erected at the end of the T's Red Line in Cambridge. It boasts one incredible amenity: it's completely free!

Alewife station is perfectly situated at the edge of the burbs and perpendicular to The Minuteman Bikeway, one of the most popular rail trails in the U.S. Wanting to encourage even more customers to launch an intermodal bike commute, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) fast tracked two unmanned bike cages that can hold hundreds of bicycles in a secure, covered cage, protected by high-tech surveillance. From the crowded weekday parking action we saw - with hundreds of bikes parked outside the cage to supplemental racks - it looks like a hit.

Also see lots of our other bike parking goodies from Berkeley's Bikestation, BikeLink in the Bay Area, and Portland's on-street bike parking choices.

http://www.livablestreets.com/people/grenavitar Fritz

I think surveillance and a choke point is key to stopping bike theft. Anyone stealing a bike (theoretically) must leave through the door and will (theoretically) be taped. That's a big disincentive to theft... which is a great thing. Now it remains to be seen if the agency with control of the video cameras 1) maintains their functioning and 2) is willing to use the footage to track down bike thieves.
http://www.urbanaggression.com Felipe

Similar facilities throughout all facets of the transit infrastructure will help solidify cycling as a transportation alternative. All communities with plans to upgrade transit hubs need to watch this film.
http://hembrow.blogspot.com David Hembrow

There are secure places to park your bike all over the Netherlands. For instance, I have a video here of a covered, video surveilled and actually quite beautiful cycle park at a railway station in Groningen for over 4000 bikes, which brings the station area to over 6000 in total. Note how the double level cycle parking here has a lever to provide some mechanical advantage when lifting your bike which makes it rather easier to use.

Also, this is an example of a manned secure cycle park in Nijmegen city centre. Again it's for thousands of bikes.

You find a lot of cycle parking even in very small towns.

Streetfilms