Bike Lockers in Limbo
In the summer of 2002, the City of Vancouver awarded a twenty-year contract to a partnership of Viacom and JCDecaux (now called CBS/Decaux) to provide and maintain a suite of new street furniture, including 235 bike lockers. Not a single locker has been installed to date, and there is not yet a plan on how they will be managed once installed.
The furniture was intended to make the city friendlier to public activity, particularly in terms of public and human-powered transportation. Litter bins, pay phones, benches, pedestrian-oriented street maps, information kiosks, bike storage, public toilets, and sheltered bus stops were all intended to contribute to the city’s identity and accessibility.
Viacom/Decaux offered the city $47.3 million to win the contract, which required the firm to be responsible for all installation and maintenance, a service with an estimated value to the city of $135 million over 20 years. In return, Viacom/Decaux gained exclusive advertising rights on all city bus shelters. Free community oriented advertising is available on ten per cent of the shelters for local non-profit organizations.
CBS/Decaux informed momentum that questions regarding the lockers should be directed to the City.
Grant Woff of the City of Vancouver’s Engineering Services said that the bike lockers are expected to be installed at some point in the future. He said that the City is looking at the overall strategy of where to provide the bike parking, but his department has not yet received direction from Planning about the specific locations.
The suite of furniture was also to include, among other things: 900 bus shelters, 175 bike racks, 210 maps and eight
public toilets.
The bus shelters have all been installed, with 225 of them having integrated solar-powered lighting fixtures. There has been mild controversy over the shelter’s design. Some users have complained that the benches can become too wet to sit on, that the roofs leak, or that the advertisements block views of arriving buses, and likewise the bus drivers’ ability to see people waiting.
According to Grant Woff, 110 bike racks will have been installed under the contract by the end of 2007, and at least seven fully automated self-cleaning toilets. Beginning in 2008, ten new bike racks will be installed per year, with all 175 expected to be in place by summer 2015.
The public toilets have been delayed due to difficulties deciding on the most appropriate locations. The city now anticipates seven toilets to be installed this year. None of the 210 maps have been installed, and locations have yet to be decided.
According to the City, some delays and temporary removal of furniture have been caused by other construction projects.
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