Despite the best efforts of organisations like Bicycle Victoria and various councils and state governments, not every workplace has facilities for cyclists who want to commute to work. I know, I’ve worked in places that ranged from providing individual lockers and numerous showers, to being told to just park my bike outside on the street and with one unisex shower that I wouldn’t touch with a barge pole.
If you work in the Melbourne CBD and your workplace doesn’t have adequate bike parking facilities, BikePark might be the place you’re looking for. BikePark is a secure bike storage space located in vault 15 of the Banana Alley vaults, accessed from the Yarra side of Flinders Street station near Queensbridge, and I visited there recently when I went to chat to them about CycleStyle and to give them some business cards for their reception area.
The facility holds 150 bikes and is accessed by secure swipe card, with CCTV monitoring in all public areas. A casual user has access 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM for $6 a day (not including locker or towel hire). Registered members for 1, 3, 6 or 12 month periods have 24/7 access for approximately $7 a day, and you will get allocated your own parking space, a locker where you can keep your clothes and toiletries and free towel use. All change rooms have hairdryers, irons and ironing boards so you can go to work wrinkle-free!
In addition, BikePark provides complimentary hot drinks, pay as you go next-day valet laundry service and convenient access to bike mechanics who will pick up your bike, service it and return it to BikePark. To expand their offering beyond a mere parking facility, for serious cyclists they have also just started morning spin classes with professional cycling coaches and upcoming events include basic DIY maintenance, talks for women cyclists and a bike safety course.
To find out more, check out BikePark’s website and Flickr stream and keep up to date with Facebook and Twitter.
(All images from BikePark)
