Provide Safe Bike Storage

According to the Census Bureau, over 19.5 million people commute by bike every day. Yet, nearly two thirds (65%) of Americans who do not bike say they would like to ride more often. What does it take for these people to get out on their bikes? A secure place to store their bike at their destination is one thing they need. Biking has many health benefits, many of which could help keep health care costs down for your company. A study in the British Medical Journal found that employees who cycled to work had a 45% lower chance of developing cancer and a 46% lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

Many employers help pay for public transportation or parking for employees, so why not bikes? It could be as easy as using a spare room or maximizing garage space. Find out what other companies are doing to store bikes for their employees at Cycle Safe.

When planning on where to put bike racks for your employees, here are a few tips:

Good bike parking is well-lit and easily accessible.
Make signage of some fashion.
Put the bike racks close to the building entrance and/or shower facilities.
It is Duluth, so ideally your bicycle parking is sheltered from the elements!
If it is not feasible to provide bike racks or lockers, perhaps allow employees to store their bikes in or by their desks and creating a ‘bike friendly’ route so bikes don’t clog traffic inside the office.

One final thought: if your company is looking to follow LEED certification guidelines, bike parking will give you valuable points!

Source: Celis-Morales Carlos A, Lyall Donald M, Welsh Paul, Anderson Jana, Steell Lewis, Guo Yibing et al. Association between active commuting and incident cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mortality: prospective cohort study BMJ 2017; 357 :j1456