The speed is amazing. It wasn't here yesterday evening when I returned from town – and now lookie here! Eight brand-new bicycle stands. Installed this morning. Można? Można! I had complained about the lack of sufficient cycle provision earlier this year, when I saw 17 bikes chained up at this side of the station , and only four stands. Each one is for two bikes, so the remainder were left tied to the fence (right) or to the handrails going down into the pedestrian tunnel. A nuisance for many, a hazard for a few.
The new stands are marvellous news, and a sign of a new commitment from rail infrastructure operator PKP PLK. I photographed the sign below in Warka station two years ago. The answer to the problem of where to leave your bike wasn't to put up more bike stands, but to threaten cyclists with confiscation of their property should they chain their bikes incorrectly.
And as the number of cycle-using passengers grow, so PKP PLK should continue to provide more and more stands. Then we get a virtuous circle. (Motorists – apart from anything else, driving your car ultra-short distances twice a day is really bad for internal-combustion engines. Walk or cycle. Fifteen minutes there, fifteen back – good daily exercise.)
Below: recording another new bit of infrastructure – newly laid asphalt on the lane leading off Jakubowizna's main street. This part of Jakubowizna is known locally as 'Działki'.
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3 comments:
These are good stands - you can lock the frame of the bike, not just the front wheel. Location seems to be good too - it's close to the platform. A few things could be better:
1. The ratio of space dedicated to car parking vs bike parking is not good. It's better than it was, but it is still like "we need to do something so those weirdos on bikes have something", rather than "let's make it easy, safe and comfortable for people to come by bike - let's make active transport a priority". It should be bigger in other words.
2. It should have a roof. Bikes, unlike cars, are not designed to be stored outdoors: they rust, the saddle and handlebars get wet, e-bike battery and electronics may get damaged.
3. Safety: at minimum there should be good lighting and CCTV.
@Tomasz Andraszek
You are right about lack of a roof over the racks. In practice, many cyclists put a plastic bag over their saddles in the morning. CCTV - there are cameras inside, but can they see the cycle racks? Ratio of space... There's space for a vast car park in the land left over from the old goods yard.
"Let's make it easy, safe and comfortable for people to come by bike - let's make active transport a priority" – entirely agree with your sentiment !
I made a mistake with the ratio. I saw it right after posting, of course. :-) What I meant was that there should be more space for bikes. Cheers.
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