How End of Trip Facilities Comply for Bike Parking

Bike Parking - The Start and The Finish for Cyclists!

Astra Street Furniture supplies a large range of sought-after bike racks throughout Australia including bike rack Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and all regional and remote areas. Our unique range is carefully designed and manufactured to meet the highest cycling infrastructure standards for end of trip facilities in office complexes, apartment towers, mixed developments, basement car parks, shopping centres, restaurants & cafés, airports, railway stations, community hubs, clubs, universities, TAFE colleges, schools, industrial warehouses, hospitals and medical centres.

Bicycles are becoming increasingly important to society, not only for sport, fitness or recreation but also as a low cost, energy efficient transport alternative, such as commuting to and from work. Astra’s ‘end-of-trip facilities’ bike parking racks are available for all types of bikes ranging from high cost custom performance road bikes, cross-country and downhill bikes to general children’s bikes.

Astra Street Furniture bike storage racks include compact multi-bike parking, space saving wall mounted bike racks, single rail bike racks, vertical bike racks, over-bonnet bike storage, school bike racks and scooter racks. The full range can be viewed HERE.

Green Building Council of Australia - Green Star

The Green Building Council Australia manages the Green Star sustainability rating tool. According to their website https://www.gbca.org.au/resources/green-buildings-for-tenants/transport/ - ‘Green buildings encourage people to use alternative modes of transport by incorporating cyclist facilities and excellent public transport networks into their design. As a result, people in green buildings use transport twice as much as the average Australian capital city commuter. Regular cycling can help control stress, anxiety and depression, and build social connections in the workplace. As a result, cycle-friendly workplaces have greater morale, lower absenteeism and higher productivity. They say, ‘Get on your bike! Many green buildings include bicycle, shower and locker facilities to encourage staff to leave the car at home. 181 William Street in Melbourne, for instance, has more than 100 bike racks with one locker per bike, plus one shower for every 10 bike racks. And at South Australia's 5 Star Green Star City Central Tower 1, for example, an 80% reduction on local planning car-parking allowances achieved significant CO2 reduction by removing 770 cars permanently off the road.’

Green star points are awarded for the incorporation of bicycle parking within new developments from offices to education. This important consideration is for any project looking to achieve a green star rating as the incorporation of bicycle parking helps significantly towards achieving the highest overall rating. In saying this, parking equipment is only part of the solution as associated amenities also need to be provided for cyclists. Under the category of office developments there are 11 points available for transport of which 3 points (27.2%) are concerned with bicycle parking. In the context of a total project there are approximately 142 points available meaning bicycle parking makes up 2.11% of an office green star rating. This shows that bike parking points are therefore critical for the design of the building.

The following detail from the office green star calculator version 3, is as per the green star website 1/10/2010. Up to 3 points are awarded as follows.

• One point is awarded where the following are provided: secure bicycle storage for 5% of building staff (based on one person per 15m2 of net lettable area); accessible showers (based on one per 10 bicycle spaces provided or part thereof); changing facilities adjacent to showers; and one secure locker per bicycle space in the changing facilities.
• Two points are awarded where the following are provided: secure bicycle storage for 10% of building staff (based on one person per 15m2 of NLA); accessible showers (based on one per 10 bicycle spaces provided or part thereof); changing facilities with showers adjacent; and one secure locker per bicycle space in the changing facilities.
• An additional point is awarded where: the requirements for either one or two points have been met; and visitor bicycle parking is provided and meets the following criteria: one space per 750m2 NLA or part thereof; and provided in an accessible location, signposted and close to, or adjacent to, a major public entrance to the building.

Further information is available at the green star website http://www.gbca.org.au

Secure Bike Parking: What level of security is needed for bike racks?

The full range of Astra bike racks are designed to meet the requirements of AS2890.3 for Class 2 or 3 security level of bicycle parking, which includes:

a) The ability to lock both the wheel and the bike frame (high security).

b) The provision to support the frame (prevents accidental damage to the bike).

When selecting bicycle parking infrastructure, it is important to understand the features required for commercial applications. Commercial grade bike racks must be vandal resistant, weather resistant and extremely durable. Astra Street Furniture bike rack products comply with Green Star and AS2890.3 guidelines which provides 2 Classes of acceptable bicycle rack parking facilities:

Class 2 bicycle rooms and compounds:

These bike storage cages are protected from the weather and accessed via an attendant or key system. Class 3 bike racks and rails are provided within this compound to allow secure locking of bikes.

Class 3 bicycle racks are designed to:

a) Maximise security of a bike by allowing the wheels and frame to be locked to the parking device using the cyclist’s own lock.

b) Minimise damage to a bike by supporting the bike frame (not wheel).

With a 10 Year Quality Guarantee, we are hiring industry consultants and architectural consultants to work with architects, designers, specifiers and clients within the industry to continue to build a range that is truly client-centric and highest quality, to support every green star or cycling initiative. These products & product ranges are all coupled with the Quality Range & Trusted Support that is synonymous with parent company, the Area Safe Group!