TransLink has bike parkades at stations across Metro Vancouver for convenient storage but those who have been using it as a long-term solution to Vancouver's space issue won't be able to do so for much longer.
TransLink, in partnership with the Metro Vancouver Transit Police, announced this week that bicycles left abandoned or discarded in bike parkades will be removed and donated to charity.
The clear-out is intended to free up space before the busy spring and summer months and long-term storage is prohibited so customers can use the spots for same-day use.
TransLink says that starting next week police will be placing removable tags on all bicycles and taking detailed descriptions. Any bikes remaining in storage that match the recorded descriptions and still have their tags two weeks later (Jan. 26) will be removed.
Before donating the bikes to charity, police will consult their database and 529 Garage, an online service to report stolen bikes in the community, to check if the abandoned bikes were stolen.
The bikes that have not been reported stolen will be donated to the PEDAL Society’s Pedals for the People Program, a non-profit organization that provides bikes to Metro Vancouver residents in need of affordable transportation.
There are 11 bike parkades in Metro Vancouver open 24/7, three of which are within the City of Vancouver at King Edward Station, Main Street-Science World Station, and Commercial-Broadway Station. Other locations are situated in Burnaby, Richmond, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, and Surrey.
It costs $1 a day, capped at $8 per month, to park your bike in a parkade and customers can register their Compass Cards to use them.
