Foothills Campus installs secure bike storage

By Fabian Mayer, May 28 2015 —

Cyclists at the University of Calgary’s Foothills Campus have a new place to store their bikes. The secure bike storage facility is in the courtyard between the Health Sciences Centre and Health Research Innovation Centre.

The caged facility can accommodate about 250 bikes and costs $30 per year to use. It is part of the university’s goal to make its campuses more sustainable.

Associate director of parking and transportation services Susan Austen supports the initiative.

“There is a parking shortage at Foothills, so encouraging other means of transportation is a great way to try to help the problem,” Austen said.

Austen is hopeful more people will bike to Foothills Campus now that there is secure storage.

“People wanted somewhere a little bit more secure to leave their bikes and something also with a little weather protection,” Austen said.

Secure bike parking was introduced to U of C’s main campus in 2013 and is located on the lower level of the Art Parkade. Austen said only about 30 people use it regularly.

“It could be a little bit stronger,” Austen said. “It is on the south side of campus and a little bit removed.”

According to campus security, approximately 30–40 bikes are stolen on campus every year. Austen believes this keeps people from biking to the university.

“Unfortunately, it’s quite a high number and people with higher-end bikes are understandably a bit hesitant to bring them,” Austen said. “Hopefully these secured areas would help that.”

Rick Gysen is a patrol supervisor with campus security. He believes bikes make an easy target for thieves.

“We’re an open community, anyone can come onto campus,” Gysen said. “People need to just kind of keep that in the back of their mind.”

Gysen thinks more secure bike storage might help the problem.

“It would give people another option,” Gysen said. “We’re trying to give people reasonable alternatives.”

Austen said the university will keep encouraging students and staff to bike to campus with more secure bike storage.

“What we hope to do eventually is spread them out a bit more,” Austen said. “The next one that’s been discussed is potentially somewhere near the LRT station.”

Austen hopes the next facility will be installed in 12–18 months, citing cost as the main reason for the limited facilities.

Campus security encourages cyclists to note their bike’s serial number and invest in a high quality bike lock.