Must be cheap and immediately available
By Jonathan Blackburn
Lee Towndrow rides his bike to school nearly every day. He cycles down from Danforth and Pape, but by the time he arrives at Ryerson there is usually no space left to park his bike.
“I’ve locked it up to a tree more than once,” says the third-year RTA student.
His problem is shared by other Ryerson students who want to ride their bikes to school.
“There just aren’t enough secure spaces on campus,” he says. Everyday bicycles line the fence outside Jorgenson Hall, just above The Edge.
Ryerson’s parking crisis is just an example of a city-wide problem.
“There is a growing demand for spaces to park bicycles in the downtown,” says Dan Egan, of the City-Planning Department.
Between 400 and 500 racks are added by Public Works each year at a cost of about $50,000.
“It’s a lot better than five years ago,” he says, “but still not enough.”
Egan works with a group called the Toronto City Cycling Committee. The TCCC is made up of citizens who advise city council on improving facilities and safety for cyclists. Their mandate is to get more people to ride bicycles and make Toronto streets safer for cyclists.
“I don’t think there are adequate parking facilities,” says Sue Zielienski, who has worked on the committee for 10 years. Bicycle use has increased by 75 per cent over the past six years according to Zielinksi. The Toronto Transit Commission is looking into adding bicycle lockers at its subway stations. Current indoor parking spaces ask anywhere from one to five dollars for a day. These are alternatives to “putting a bike in a public place where it will attract attention,” says Zielinkski.
The shortage in secure-bike parking helps to explain the chronic problem of bicycle theft across Metropolitan Toronto. Last year, 11,000 bikes were stolen, according to the TCCC.
Most of the bikes were taken from peoples homes, says Egan, but a good quality bike will be stripped of any valuable parts.
“It doesn’t matter what lock you have, a thief will break into it,” says Frank Lauraitis, a third-year RTA student. “I’m afraid to lock my bike up outside.” Lauraitis rides his bike to school frequently and will not let it out of his sight.
“I’ll take it into class and leave it by the door, or in the faculty office,” he says. “If a professor doesn’t allow me to bring it into class, I just won’t stay.”
Lauraitis would like to see a secure-indoor space for bikes at Ryerson. The room could register each bike for a small fee and give the owner an ID number that would serve as a claim check, he says.
There is an indoor bicycle-parking facility at the corner of Yonge and Queen which costs one dollar per day to park. Dan Egan says this location is cheap because they struck a deal with the fitness club in the building.
“The prime real estate for bicycle parking downtown is very expensive,” he says, “and not many people are willing to pay.
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