Sometimes bike parks are installed at the different spaces of the University, both by the Maintenance Service and by the different centres. A set of essential criteria for installing this equipment can be found below.

Location

The place where they are installed is as important as the safety that it provides. The better is the location, the more it will be used.

Bicycle parks must be located in a place clearly visible for the public. By avoiding isolated areas and hidden places, cyclists will feel safer to chain their bikes there. Crowded places also dissuade thieves. In this way, bike parks will aso be close the users’ destination, who will chain their bikes there instead of doing it in places such as rails, fences or suitably placed trees.

However, while it must be placed in a visible place, it is important that the bicycle parks is at an appropriate distance so it will not interfere with the circulation of pedestrians or other kind of circulation. Cyclists may need a space wide enough to manoeuvre with their bikes in front of the parking slots, without hitting other bikes, cars or people. It is also important to locate them to an appropriate distance from doors, kerbs or roads in order to avoid obstructing the flow of people.

The space distribution of the bicycle parks is shown below (right button to zoom in).
Source: Salamanca’s Comité de Bici Urbana Guardabarros.

Design

The “inverted U” model is the most used because of its safety level and comfort. Its advantage regarding other models is that this one allows to chain the bike chaining the frame and both wheels.

In the unusual cases of interior bike parks, models attached to the walls that allow to chain the bicycles vertically for a better use of the space can be used.

When buying a specific model, the supplier must the technical specifications with the detailed description of the materials and properties. It must be resistant against:

• Thefts: with resistant materials against tools like shears, saws for metal, portable circular saws, etc. The time to manage to steal a bike must excede five minutes.
• Vandalism: bike stands must be partially buried, and not anchored with screws, as they are easy to detach by levering pushing the top of the bike rack or by involuntary action of a car.
• Weather conditions: moist and saline environments are the most aggressive with the materials.
• Intensive use: some superficial finishing details may be vulnerable to scratches and suffering a kind of deterioration that accelerate corrosion and aggravate the visual aspect of the bicycles park.

Materials

In the first place, it is advisable to take into account how the bicycles park will be attached. In the event of being located outdoors, they must be attached to the floor with cement, and in the unusual cases of models with shear bolts, they must be over 30 centimetres deep.

The most common types of materials are the following, which are organised from the less resistant to the most resistant against weather:

• Steel with electrolytic zinc: the material is submerged in zinc and through an electrolytic process, a protective coat is created. This finishing touch is appropriate for indoor spaces.
• Galvanized iron: the material is submerged in hot zinc that penetrates and covers the material. This finishing touch is appropriate for outdoor places.
• Stainless steel: through the incorporation of chromium to the steel, a resistant material to corrosion without the need of any additional superficial treatment is created. The finishing details can be different, shine or matte, providing a highly welcomed, final aesthetic. They are suitable for outdoor or indoor locations, and there are even some resistant to saline environments.

Dimensions

A good bikes park stimulates the demand, so it is convenient to design them with an extra 25% of surface, in case of future extensions.

There must always be enough parking slots: better if there are more than less.

More information

For any doubt or enquiry, pleas contact to:mediambient@uv.es

More extensive information can be found in the following manual:
Manual on bicycles parks of the IDEA.pdf