Photo Pexels
Commuters taking the SkyTrain can now store their bike at King Edward Canada Line station.
The new bike parkade has space for 26 bikes, electrical outlets for charging e-bikes, is lit 24 hours a day for visibility and is equipped with video surveillance cameras.
TransLink says this is their first bike parkade to open on the Canada Line and fourth to join the transit network. Other bike parkades are located at Main Street–Science World, Joyce–Collingwood, and King George.
The most heavily used parkade is at Main Street-Science World and May was the busiest month with almost 2,600 entries recorded across all of the parkades.
“We are always looking at ways to make incorporating transit into your commute more convenient. Safe and secure storage for bikes will encourage more of our customers to look at cycling as a viable option for part of their journey," says TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond in a release.
The transit operator plans to open two new bike parkades at Metrotown and Commercial-Broadway stations later this year.
"We are delighted that another bike parkade will be opening at King Edward Station. Secure bike parking facilities help to encourage more people to ride their bikes for transportation and when more people bike we get healthier, happier and more sustainable communities," says Laura Jane, acting executive director of HUB Cycling.
The service costs $1 per day with fees capped at $8 per month.
Members of the public can use the bike parkades by registering their Compass Card and enrolling online. Approximately 1,383 people have are already registered to use the parkades, according to TransLink.
The King Edward bike parkade cost $500,000 with a portion of the cost covered by the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund (PTIF).
Under the PTIF the federal government is contributing $34,500 and the B.C. government is contributing $23,000 with TransLink funding the balance.
The PTIF is providing $4 million for eight new bike parkades with the federal government contributing $2 million, the province contributing $1.3 million and TransLink covering the rest of the cost.
