Here’s what happens when people can park their bikes without fear of it being stolen #commute #bike

What I found most interesting about this full-time, publicly funded bike valet parking program is, not that it reduced bike theft (although that is probably enough reason on its own to do this) but that it encouraged different types of people to ride their bikes downtown than they might otherwise do it.

Do you think fear of bike theft is a deterrent to people riding bikes?

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[slightlyworthles]

Yup most annoying thing about riding a bike is finding a spot to lock it

[jfouellette]

Yes, theft is issue. It’s not fun to get your bicycle stolen and have to walk back home.

[scotthalland]

100% this would get me biking more. I've had two bikes stolen (one in broad daylight, sawed through my lock right in a heavily trafficked area) and stopped cycling downtown for that reason alone.

[tconnolly]

I have ended countless comments on all kinds of forums and discussions by saying that, the real and immediate fear of theft is a greater deterrent stopping more people using bikes and e-bikes for every day transportation and as an alternative to cars than safety or lack of infrastructure.
Nobody is going to leave a 2k+ bike or e-bike locked up all day or all night if they are certain that it will only be a matter of time until it gets stolen no matter how good your locks are.
And I'm not even talking about a dodgy area.
But you can park a 70k Tesla in that same place, lock it and walk away from it and have nothing to worry about while you are at work all day.
As they say these days, facts!

[derekjolly]

It does help when you can simply find a bike rack of some kind. I was stopping by to vote in this year's primary yesterday. The voting address is maybe a mile and a third from where I live. I'm looking all around this corner of the building which is an events center and is huge. There were multiple park benches out, nice newer ones too, but no actual bike racks at all. So I had to use one of them to lock to with a U-lock and a chain. If they can put those benches in, why can't they have a bike rack? They just expect everyone to drive there.

[juliapoelstra]

The fear of theft is real! I sold my regular commuter bike to get a folding Brompton so it could come with me.

[peacockandfig]

I've used the downtown bike valet so frequently, and riders are getting so used to it (and The Locker bike valet parking at big events and festivals) that people are confused now when you go to a big event and there's only a bunch of unattended bike racks or nothing at all... I live downtown Victoria and even I often use the bike valet parking, as it's easier and faster than walking a lot further to get to the shops or events I need to go to closer to the inner harbour.

[nipo]

In many cities in my home country of Belgium, they have sectioned off spaces from their underground parking lots for bike parking. They section it off using large vertical fences and turnstiles, so you wouldnt have to worry about thieves with cars stealing a bunch of bikes; the only way to get your bike in and out is by taking the camera-monitored elevator.

The place I currently live in (Columbus, OH) is trying to improve micro mobility in the city, but I dont think they ever listened to me when I told them they could do something similar. The only reason I bike to work rather than take the bus is because I can take my bike up to my cubicle and do not have to worry about somebody stealing it.

[sallymoen]

I guess I need to bring my folding bike on vacation to Victoria.
Thanks for the info

[Teapot-Dave]

I have a tatty-looking brush-painted hack bike which I ride when I am going to have to leave it somewhere for any length of time. As far as I know, nobody has ever tried to steal it, because it always looks the same when I come back to it.

[micklumsden]

Isn’t it obvious?

Why don’t politicians in other countries learn from the Dutch? In the Netherlands, there have been large purpose-built bike parking facilities for ages.
Go to any railway station in the Netherlands and you see thousands of bikes parked

[streddaz]

I agree. I commute to work most days but taking my bike to the shop is a bit off putting as I worry about it being stolen or that I have to carry some big bulky bike lock

[ThomasCraig]

Can we take a moment to appreciate the awesome bike path view behind Tom?

[cyclicmusings]

Not having proper places to lock up a bike and the fear of it being stolen is largest reason I mostly only ride recreationally. The few times I've used a bike for errands where I've had to lock it outside, I've taken my "crappiest" bike - a used 20 year old MTB that I paid around $100 for, and I still lock it up with chain locks. It's not particularly nice looking, fast, or comfortable to ride, but it gets the job done. Shame that I can't put too many accessories on it or that risks making it look more attractive to potential thieves.

[moodycxnt]

That's a beautiful background shot!

[KillersWalkFree]

Me and my girlfriend took the ferry to Victoria last month. We we're upset because we forgot our bike locks but then we were told about the free bicycle vallet from a worker at a vegan buffet. We were also super impressed with their bicycle infrastructure. The best part about our trip was being able to explore the City by bike.

[jamjari]

As a resident of the 'Capital Regional District' which includes Victoria, I can confirm that it's a game changer. But I think it also has a knock-on effect, along with all the new cycling infrastructure - the more people who ride downtown, the more bikes there are both in the valet and at racks ... and there's safety in numbers.

[littlefairykaija]

I use the Valet all the time! Absolutely love it!!

[GirtonOramsay]

We only just brought back a bike valet service to Padres baseball games in downtown San Diego. This is what our downtown actually needs, especially when they have built new bike paths across the city in last 5 yrs

[CanadianWinters]

Love this. As someone that rides a bicycle almost every day (even in -20C weather), I would love to have secure bicycle parking locations. Calgary has "secure" bike parking locations (bike cages mainly) but they are only on a monthly subscription and not flexible (you can only park at the one location your monthly subscription is for). I would love to have a daily bicycle parking option at those locations (bike cages) in Calgary.