When managing a railway station, a transport interchange hub, or a park-and-ride facility, you may have wondered whether you should invest effort in encouraging more cycling to and from your location. Your starting point may be that you have none to very little cycle parking or that you have bike facilities but they were installed a decade ago. Either way, your provisions may not be meeting demand or following the latest recommendations.
The big question is, of course, “Is your station’s cycle parking encouraging people to ride to the train, or putting them off?” The latest cycle-rail guidance recommends assessing plans and existing facilities against a range of criteria including accessibility, security, convenience and future capacity. To help you do that in a structured way, we have the questionnaire below as a starting point for your own audit.
Planning
For the purposes of this article, we assume you have already completed all the planning and permission research. This may be relatively straightforward in some locations, but a little more complicated in others. For example, if the station in question is a heritage building, you may require extra permissions and planning approval.
In addition, as a good practice, cycle parking should be considered as part of a wider transport experience. As a station manager, you should also think about what happens before and after a user reaches the cycle parking. For example, how easy it is to access the station by bike, or whether users can comfortably move through the station while pushing a bicycle.
In this article, we focus on cycle parking itself, but these wider factors should not be overlooked.
Is the location right?
The location of cycle parking is one of the most important factors in whether it will be used. Even high-quality facilities will underperform if they are poorly located or difficult to find.
Cycle parking should be intuitive to reach, clearly signposted and positioned so that it naturally fits into the user journey through the station environment.
Easy to Find
The best cycle parking is immediately apparent to anyone approaching the station. Poor visibility often results in bikes being locked to railings instead, which defeats the purpose of providing bike parking.
There are, of course, real-world constraints and parking right next to entrances may not be viable. However, this can be remedied with excellent signage and by making wayfinding as easy as possible.
Proximity to Station Entrance
People naturally choose the most convenient location. Ideally, this would be as close as possible to the entrance, as it will be both highly visible and convenient. Cycle parking should be close enough that walking from bike to platform feels effortless, while avoiding conflicts with pedestrian routes.
Accessible for Everyone
The key to a good cycling facility is ensuring as many people as possible can use it. Think about the journey before cyclists reach the stands, and whether they need to do anything that may be difficult or off-putting, like carrying a bike up stairs, navigating narrow gates, steep ramps, or heavy doors. Once you have assessed their route, consider how you can eliminate as many obstacles as possible. Accessible routes benefit everyone, especially people using adapted cycles, cargo bikes or trailers.
Questions:
Is the cycle storage located close to the station entrance?
Is it visible from station entrances?
Is there clear directional signage?
Would a first-time visitor know exactly where to go?
Is the cycle parking well overlooked from multiple directions, providing good natural surveillance, with any visual obstructions such as vegetation or solid barriers removed where necessary?
Can cycle-rail users reach the cycle parking easily, without unnecessary detours or delays?
Do access routes comply with current design standards for gradients, and where steps are present, are wheeling ramps provided?
Are there any other obstacles which need to be removed to make cyclists’ route easier?
Are the facilities right?
Cycle parking is only effective if it genuinely works for the people using it. Beyond capacity, facilities must be assessed on how well they support different cycle types, protect bikes from the elements, provide security, and allow users to move through the space easily and intuitively.
Capacity
Capacity, alongside location, is an important element of good bike infrastructure. They are also one of the aspects of a cycling facility you will need to decide on fairly early on. The key here is to provide enough for current usage and provision some on top. There are two reasons for that. Firstly, when cyclists, or would-be cyclists, notice a new or improved cycling facility, they are more likely to start using it. Second, the trend for active travel is slowly but steadily on an upwards trajectory across the world, and the likelihood is that cycling will only increase and with it the demand for parking.
Demand is easier to estimate if you have existing facilities, but if you don’t, you can look up useful information about your area, such as cycling statistics or local authorities’ plans for cycle lane expansions, which would drive up cycling.
Types of Bikes
When thinking about capacity, you should also remember that not every bike fits every rack. Consider whether your facility can comfortably accommodate various types of bikes, such as adapted cycles, cargo and family bikes, or e-bikes. Providing a mix of parking stands and racks is usually the best way to accommodate a wide variety of bike types.
Weather Protection
The best scenario for bike storage is probably an indoor-located one, which gives you extra security and weather protection. If, however, that is not possible, you should consider a shelter. Shelters help keep bikes dry, reduce corrosion and make cycling more attractive year-round. This encourages people to cycle and helps them feel good about where they are leaving their belongings.
Security
Security is about both actual protection and perceived safety. Bike parking areas should be located in well-lit areas with a measure of natural surveillance from staff, passersby, and the general flow of people. Racks and stands should also be high-quality, able to accommodate D-locks and allowing for both frame and wheel to be chained for maximum security. Wheel-only supports should generally be avoided, as they are not the best way to prevent theft. Security is paramount because if cyclists don’t feel confident leaving their bikes, they may choose another mode of transport.
Layout
Aside from the racks and shelters themselves, the overall area needs to be laid out properly. Good parking should feel intuitive, provide enough space, and ensure users don’t struggle to park. This means enough aisle width, space between racks and enough manoeuvring space.
Questions:
How many people use our current bike parking facilities? Alternatively, what are the rates of cycling in the area?
What types of bikes can I accommodate?
Are bikes protected from the weather?
Can bike parking be installed indoors or in a sheltered area? Alternatively, have I provided a bike shelter if bike parking is outdoors?
Does my bike shelter have best-practice additions like lighting and drainage?
Is there natural surveillance of the bike parking area, staff, and/or CCTV to ensure robust security?
Can cyclists chain both frame and wheel for maximum security?
Is there enough space to manoeuvre bikes around the area?
Is there enough space between racks so users can park and retrieve bikes without clashing?
Are you thinking about the future?
As we mentioned earlier, bike riding is actively encouraged, and there is a good chance cycling will see an even bigger uptick in the future. This is backed by government and local authority financing and by infrastructure improvements. This means you need to be thinking about tomorrow.
Occupancy
Regularly monitor occupancy and collect data to predict future demand. You can conduct surveys, manual counts, and CCTV reviews to gather reliable data on how full your bike parking spaces are and any trends. High occupancy is usually an early warning that expansion will soon be needed, and understanding demand trends allows facilities to grow before they become overcrowded.
Expansion
Demand for cycle parking rarely remains static, so you may need to expand your provision of cycling spaces in the future. To make this process as smooth as possible, you should be thinking about it from the start. Consider if the chosen location can accommodate additional shelters and racks. You may also want to think about using space-saving racks like two-tier ones from the start to save time and money. Planning for growth now is often much cheaper than retrofitting later.
Questions:
Are spaces full before peak commuting times?
Are bikes being attached to railings or fences?
Is informal parking increasing?
Can I accommodate additional racks later?
Small Changes Can Make a Big Difference
Improving station cycle parking isn’t always about increasing capacity. Better visibility, more accessible layouts, enhanced security and facilities that accommodate a wider range of cycles can all make rail travel more attractive.A structured audit helps identify where investment will have the greatest impact, whether that’s adding more Sheffield stands, installing two-tier systems, improving shelters or developing a fully secure cycle hub.