CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure

Help-No bike racks affect bike and personal safety

(20 posts)
  • Started 10 years ago by Accendino
  • Latest reply from Charterhall

  1. Accendino
    Member

    Hello everyone,

    I am a keen biker, but I am experiencing some issues with parking my bike.
    I recently moved to Lauriston Gardens, where there are no facilities for parking the bike.
    In the internal space towards my flat there are several parking slots for cars, but nothing for bicycles, apart from a small bike rack that is not attached to anything and is abandoned in a corner, unusable.

    This means, the only secure storage space I have for my bike is to leave it at work in the bike shed, but that way I can't ride it to work.

    Last night I left it, for the first time, locked to a house fence on my street, as that was the only thing I could lock my bike to. The bike was attached to the side, completely out of the way, both for people accessing the flat and for pedestrians. While picking it up this morning I have been verbally abused by the flat occupier, who shouted at me from behind the curtains of their open window "she's finally f***ing taking the stupid bike!" and more along the lines, with so much hathred and anger in their voice, that I left literally shocked and scared about someone like that damaging my bike or becoming aggressive.

    Why does it need to be so difficult? Why can't I just lock my bike to a secured bike rack where it shouldn't bother anyone? What can I do if I want to continue riding and stay safe?

    Thanks,
    Silvia

    Posted 10 years ago #

  2. SRD
    Moderator

    not ideal solutions: lock to pole in street? there must be some?? buy a folding bike and take it into flat. ask landlord/building management to turn private car parking space into bike rack? (hard to know w/out seeing space)

    But one thing you really ought to do is email your councillors via writetothem.com and tell them it is a problem!

    Posted 10 years ago #

  3. Morningsider
    Member

    Accendino - bike parking in Edinburgh tenements is an ongoing problem. SPOKES, the Lothian cycle campaign, has produced a useful leaflet on this topic:

    http://www.spokes.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Fact-sheet-v10-231210.pdf

    As a long time flat dweller, I would say if you have room in your flat to store your bike then that is probably the best solution. You probably shouldn't have locked your bike to the garden fence, as Edinburgh tenement gardens (and their fences) belong to the people in the ground floor flat. However, that doesn't excuse the person's outburst.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  4. kaputnik
    Moderator

    Ask the landlord / building management to either fix the rack to the ground or install a ground/wall anchor so you can secure it.

    Is there anything in your basement where you could attach a strong length of chain of the sort used to secure motorcycles - a downpipe or similar? You could lock it to that.

    Some people are pedantic and/or aggresive and you just can't deal with so there's no point trying.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  5. kaputnik
    Moderator

    as Edinburgh tenement gardens (and their fences) belong to the people in the ground floor flat.

    Do you just mean front gardens? As far as I'm aware, tenement rear gardens are in common ownership and/or responsibility of all the main stair properties. Segregated areas accessed only from "main door" flats are the responsibility of that particular flat.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  6. Morningsider
    Member

    kaputnik - you are (of course) correct - my previous post only applies to the font gardens. I hadn't even thought about the back greens as I never think of these as being "gardens". I had assumed that Accendino had locked their bike to a front garden fence.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  7. Accendino
    Member

    Thanks everyone:
    Unfortunately there are no options inside the flat or even the building because of lack of space and regulations.

    So I'm looking for on-street storage.

    I attached my bike to the side of a front garden fence. My fault, but I was short of alternatives since poles in the street are all of the kind that an U-lock can't handle. I wrote to: cycling@edinburgh.gov.uk explaining the issue.

    I don't know who the space between buildings (https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=13+lauriston+gardens&ll=55.943631,-3.199832&spn=0.00322,0.010568&sll=55.942899,-3.198873&layer=c&cbp=13,105.77,,0,19.68&cbll=55.943603,-3.199967&gl=uk&hnear=13+Lauriston+Gardens,+Edinburgh+EH3,+United+Kingdom&t=h&z=17&panoid=XLNPPzCEQRZVDghthmAojQ) with the car park belongs to, but hopefully the 'flying' bike rack there can be fixed or replaced with something usable.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  8. DaveC
    Member

    Hi Accendino,

    I feel for you having no where to store your bike ouside. When floor do you live on, could you lock your bike to the railing on the landing? perhaps if you live on the top floor?

    There are Sheffield stands outside The Premier Inn at the top of your road, and also outside the Blood Donor Suit further up opposite the Art School. If you have a lock you trust, you could lock it up there as a temporary measure?

    As others have said, do you have room in your flat?

    Good luck.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  9. SRD
    Moderator

    "railing on the landing" police say this is the worst possible place to lock a bike. on the street under a streetlight much safer.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  10. kaputnik
    Moderator

    The fire brigade also dissaprove of bikes on landings (for emergency access point of view).

    There are bike racks just inside the Art School, but access is only available if/when art school or the Wee Red Bar is open.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  11. SRD
    Moderator

    Bikes on landings/railings can also prevent old/young people from easily grasping railings while going up/downstairs and handlebars/pedals poking through railings can easily catch those who are unsteady on their feet and pitch them downstairs, with resulting broken bones.

    May seem like I'm going overboard H&S here, but try following behind a toddler or an elderly neighbour and you'll see what I mean.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  12. SRD
    Moderator

    I tweeted link to this conversation and Jim Orr responded with this link http://goo.gl/oYHJm

    After 2 years development, they are about to start 2 years of 'trialing' on street bike parking in 3 locations.

    sigh.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  13. Kim
    Member

    Back in 2009 I started lobbing to get more cycle parking in Edinburgh since then there has been talk from CEC but relatively little action. By October last year this was as far as things had gone and not much further since.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  14. chdot
    Admin

    Not forgetting this one -

    "

    City of Edinburgh Council Design and installation of cycle storage systems for flatted developments.

    £15,000

    "
    http://www.spokes.org.uk/oldsite/chaldet.htm

    I think that was 1997/8.

    Vague feeling project didn't go ahead.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  15. Accendino
    Member

    I have also been looking into buying my new 'dream' bike to take my cycling adventures to the next level, but honestly I don't dare, as long as I don't have anywhere safe I can keep it.
    My current one would be fine with on-street parking, as long as there is something solid I can lock it to.

    And again, no, I really have no options of keeping it indoor as my shared flat is too small, on the third floor and we are not allowed to leave stuff in the staircase.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  16. sallyhinch
    Member

    When I lived in London, I kept my (not very desirable) hybrid locked up more or less on the street for 3 years and the worse thing that happened to it was that it occasionally smelled of fox wee. I also locked it up daily outside Vauxhall station (not a very salubrious area) where the worst thing that happened was that it smelled of human wee. So if you've got a non-precious bike, it's a fairly viable solution. It would be sensible to move it around a bit so that an opportunistic bike thief doesn't pass it every day and decide it's worth investing in a set of bolt cutters.

    For dream bikes - I wonder whether two or three people could get together and rent a storage space to allow people to keep their precious steeds somewhere really secure? As long as it's not your daily ride it wouldn't be too inconvenient...

    Posted 10 years ago #

  17. gkgk
    Member

    What you need is a (car) trailer with a sheffield stand bolted onto it, pushed into one of those parking places then wheel-clamped.

    Or an old caravan with a suitable anchor point for the bike lock. That'd do it!

    Posted 10 years ago #

  18. Roibeard
    Member

    @Accendino - bike hoist? I lived in a small tenement flat which had the high Edinburgh ceilings.

    I fitted a hoist to the floor joists above and with bike in place I still had room to walk below (but I don't exceed 6').

    A bit of care was required if the bike was dripping wet - muddy snow is a particularly unpleasant drip if it goes down your neck...

    Robert

    Posted 10 years ago #

  19. crowriver
    Member

    Accendino, judging from the Googol Streetview link you posted above, you are not the only one with bike parking issues as I counted 3 bikes locked to a lamp post in the car park! (Pan around to the left and you can see them). Typical that car parking (eve garages) are provided but no bike parking. If as you say there is a bike rack (Sheffield stand? Wheel benders?) then that could be used. I doubt a thief will bother carting off the whole rack if your bike is not very valuable. As others say though you could ask the landlord/property owner to bolt it to the ground/a wall.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  20. Charterhall
    Member

    Have you considered a Brompton ?

    Posted 10 years ago #

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