Comment 92936

By kevlahan (registered) | Posted October 05, 2013 at 13:56:40

The reason there is only one bike in the bike rack in figure two is that it is impossible to lock one's bike securely to this type of rack using standard U-locks. The bike in the picture is locked insecurely by its wheel.

Three years ago I first encountered this unusable rack when it was installed at the back of City Hall. I tried for five minutes to figure out how it was supposed to be used securely, and failed. I wrote to Daryl Bender about it, giving details of the design failure (because he said he had used it without problems) back in December 2010:

"I was at an evening meeting at City Hall on Monday and noticed some shiny new racks outside the back door. They looked like bike racks, but despite trying for five minutes I couldn't figure out a way to lock my bike to them using a regular U-lock (the gaps between the bars are too narrow to fit a wheel through). In the end I gave up and locked my bike to the hand railing. Are these bike racks? If so, they aren't like any bike racks I've seen and don't seem to be usable (have you used them?). Could you please ensure the City installs regular bike racks (like the ones at McMaster, or the ring style). Having unusable bike racks doesn't send the right message ..."

Daryl replied saying he was able to use the rack (I'm not sure how), but that they would install loop racks in the front of City Hall in Spring (2011). I'm not sure if the loop racks were installed or if the rack at the rear were replaced with functional ones.

Any cyclist would know immediately that the style of rack in figure 2 is not usable if you actually want to lock your bike since you can't fit a wheel through and lock to the bike frame.

Comment edited by kevlahan on 2013-10-05 13:59:40

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