New bicycle parking at NTU
A while back I posted about some of the obstacles that cyclists face in Taiwan. One thing I noted was the lack of good parking for bikes.
Witness the sidewalks around NTU which are overflowing with bicycles. An area like this is crying out for some similarly well designed bike racks.
Well, it seems my wish has come true. I snapped the photo above while I was at NTU last week. The entrance to the Gongguan MRT Station is in the background. A news report from the Taipei MRT website gives more details.
To improve the orderliness of bicycle parking areas and address the problem of insufficient parking spaces outside MRT stations, TRTC has installed 320 double-decker bicycle racks outside Gongguan Station. This has effectively increased bicycle parking spaces there by 87%.
In total, nine thousand bicycle racks have been deployed, and plans for building more multi-tier racks is underway. Between 2004 and 2006, a total of 792 double-decker bicycle racks were installed at Beitou, Jiantan and Fuzhong stations.
I commend the MRT for their efforts. I only hope the various city and county governments in Taiwan can learn from their example.
Somewhere to park a bike
Obstacles to cycling in Taiwan
A dark Taipei drama
Paris and Taipei cycling experience
Use your head, wear a helmet
Posted: January 10th, 2007 under Cycling, Environment, Taipei City, Taiwan, Transport.
Tags: mrt, ntu
Comments
Comment from David Reid
Time 11 January 2007 at 8:48 pm
The design of the bike rack you linked to is very innovative. I am sure there are some other great designs out there too. I must do a little research on this.
Comment from miao-ah
Time 12 January 2007 at 9:50 am
Now can they build one for mopeds?
Pingback from Somewhere to park a bike – letter in the Taipei Times – David on Formosa
Time 21 June 2008 at 9:42 pm
[...] double-decker bike racks at Gongguan MRT station are pictured above. They have been installed at Gongguan, Yuanshan, Jiantan, Beitou and Fuzhong MRT [...]
Comment from taipeimarc
Time 11 January 2007 at 7:03 pm
Hi David, Its good to see someone thinking progessively in Taipei City government. I was just about to send them this link: http://tinyurl.com/w5sjg (it goes to al longer link at http://www.techeblog.com) Its a new idea for bike parking. I know one of the big problems in Taipei is bike thief, so its a trade off to spend all the money on these things when people only park ratty bikes on the streets. Gotta keep the streets passable though….
Thanks also for the edit! – marc