Kamloops pedals closer to a summer bike valet

If approved, commuters would be able to check their bikes like they would a coat in a coat check and an employee would give them pickup tickets and park the bikes for them.

“Well, I hear again and again and again that people aren’t comfortable leaving their bikes for long periods of time downtown,” said city councillor and committee chair Nancy Bepple. “They’re worried about (bikes) getting stolen and having a secure place that you can leave your bike maybe for the entire day while you’re working.”

The program would potentially start in the spring and run at least five days a week through August.

“We do have a good number of bike racks in our community, but those typically are seen to provide short term, brief stops, pop into the store, come back kind of situation,” Cheetham told CFJC News. “Whereas if you’re riding to work, you may need to leave your bike somewhere for eight hours or more. And so the bike, valet or other technology solutions are available to provide that service.”

The estimated cost is $50,000, which would be paid for by the city’s Climate Action Fund.

According to the city, 66 per cent of Kamloops emissions come from transportation. Bepple believes by offering people an alternative, the city will be closer to meeting its emissions goal.

“The only way that we’re going to meet our goals in terms of climate action is to make measurable change in transportation and active transportation,” she said. “That is, everything except for independent private vehicles are ways of lowering emissions. And bicycling is one of those.”

The select committee voted unanimously in favour of the program being presented to city council.

If approved, the pilot could be operating by spring.

by Sydney Chisholm

Kamloops pedals closer to a summer bike valet

Our Community