Halifax council has voted to replace parking meters with central pay stations. This is good—more convenient payments, and variable pricing can ensure spaces are always open. But we’ll lose 1400 bike parking spots as a result, and I’m worried there’s no plan to replace them.
Most parking meters aren’t great bike parking—single point of contact, too close to the curb, often on muddy grass. That they’re widely used by cyclists despite these flaws shows how important they are. They’re often in areas that have no dedicated bike spots.
I’ve talked to city staff and they know it’s happening but have no plan to mitigate the loss. When Toronto did it in 1999, they replaced the old meters with their now-iconic post-and-ring racks. It took three years at the rate of 3000/year. We could do it in six months at that rate.
This is an opportunity to significantly improve our bike parking by replacing crappy parking meters with more convenient options (just like they’re doing for drivers at a cost of $3.5M) but we have to hurry—the parking meter replacement is set for spring 2020.
Can our bike-friendly councillors help prevent this massive lost of bike parking spots?
