Four bike shelters purchased with the help of provincial grants and profits from the city-owned logging company are being installed — one at the public works yard on Graham, one at city hall, one in front of the Terrace Public Library and one at the west end of the aquatic centre beside the fitness facility.
Each shelter can hold 10 bikes with access to the inside, controlled through a coded door lock.
The ones at the public works yard and at city hall will most likely be reserved for city employees, said city development services director David Block. A city policy is now being developed on how spaces in the other shelters will be allocated.
City communications official Kate Lautens said users will sign on for a specified period of time and pay a deposit to then receive a code for the exterior door.
They’re being billed as “end of trip” shelters to encourage bike commuting by deterring theft and by keeping bicycles dry in bad weather. Lautens did note that bike users should still have individual locks.
“It’s one big compartment, so bikes should also be locked when in the shelter with a personal lock. The door only provides a second point of security,” she said of the design.
The four shelters cost a combined total of $223,650, with $156,555 coming from one provincial grant, $33,550 from profits from the city-owned Terrace Community Forest and $33,545 from a second grant received in 2019 and 2020 for major capital projects or planning for larger projects.
City officials originally intended to buy three shelters with interior seating areas so cyclists could more easily switch from cycling garb to street clothes.
By eliminating that feature, a fourth shelter could be purchased for the same amount of money, said Lautens.