Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Back to news
news
Community
Infrastructure
MediaCityUK to get 24-hour cycle hub made out of shipping containersMediaCityUK

MediaCityUK to get 24-hour cycle hub made out of shipping containers

Secure hub will feature CCTV and swipecard entry
by Alex Bowden
Sat, Mar 14, 2015 17:43
6

Plans have been revealed for a new, secure bike hub at MediaCityUK in Salford. The 24-hour facility will be made out of shipping containers with space for 300 bikes.

The hub is being developed by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and The Peel Group with the aim of encouraging more people to commute to MediaCityUK by bike. It will be located behind Orange Tower, which is home to ITV and the University of Salford, and will also be close to the BBC’s Dock House.

The premises will be constructed from four repurposed shipping containers which will be linked together and covered by a vaulted glazed roof to allow plenty of natural light. The facility will be protected by CCTV and users will require a swipecard to enter.

Standard membership, at £10 a month or £100 for a year, will give access to cycle parking only. Premier membership, which is twice the price, will provide access to showers, changing facilities and a personal locker in addition to cycle parking. Members will also be able to use the cycle hubs in Rochdale, Bury and Ashton-under-Lyne.

The council is aiming to increase the current rate of cycle commuting (2 per cent) to 10 per cent by 2025. Councillor Chris Paul, member and Cycling Champion of the TfGM committee told the Manchester Evening News that cycling to MediaCityUK was already popular but that he hoped the new hub would encourage even more people to consider commuting by bike.

“The hub will be open 24 hours a day – so with thousands of employees on site working a variety of shift patterns, we look forward to seeing it very well used. We’ve already had a lot of interest and I share the excitement of those who can’t wait to see it open this summer.”

Manchester recently secured an extra £22 million to spend on cycling infrastructure as part of the latest wave of Cycle City Ambition funding. The city now has £42 million to spend on cycling facilities and is set to build 100km of cycle lanes around the city. Major cycle path projects are planned for Manchester Airport, Prestwich, Wilmslow Road, Cheetham Hill, Salford and Stockport as well as alongside the Bridgewater and Ashton Canals.

MediaCityUK
Salford
Chris Paul
Alex Bowden

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

Add new comment

6 comments

Avatar
andrewrechten | 9 years ago
0 likes

A friend of mine has just shown me this article. The comments above are very interesting. We set up a company www.active-commuting.com to design and build secure bike parking, showers and locker facilities for people who want to run or cycle to work. This was due to our frustration that having good facilities was becoming a lottery of where and for whom you worked for. It had to be affordable, could be run as a club, or purchased by a company/organisation and offered as a benefit. Due to high commercial property property rents and the associated dilapidation costs; we made it portable, adaptable and scalable. Depending on site it can be subsidised or even paid for by advertising/sponsorship. We are working on getting a first facility built for a hospital. Our smallest design can fit in just over two car parking spaces and can cater for 34 cyclists and 46 runners. Takes 12 weeks max to build. Want to know more or if you have suggestions regarding who we could approach, please get in touch.

Avatar
don simon fbpe | 9 years ago
0 likes

I initially got excited an opportunity for a mechanic repair business on this site then realised that they'll mostly be fixies. 16

Avatar
El_Gibbo | 9 years ago
0 likes

This was supposed to be finished at the end of summer last year. How has it taken this long, if it's only a bunch of shipping containers?!

Avatar
pmanc | 9 years ago
0 likes

Peel Holdings and TfGM did sod all to provide dedicated routes and infra for cycling when mediacity was built. The whole development (including the new bridge) is a shared use can-you-can't-you-cycle-here bodge, with little cycle parking.

I notice it got its own fancy metrolink extension at great expense?

This is unforgivable in such a new development where many of the employees might naturally choose to cycle (perhaps from suburbs of South Manchester such as Chorlton).

To now chuck in a few shipping containers, charge cyclists to stick bikes in them, and call it a "24 hour cycle hub" is insult to injury.

Avatar
Some Fella | 9 years ago
0 likes

Media City is a highly controlled space. There is a paucity of quality bike parking and I (and others) predict that this wont change and Peel (who manage Media City) will clamp down on informally parked bikes essentially forcing cyclists to sign up to the paid Bike Hub.
These Bike Hubs are ok for wealthy commuters but do nothing for your average cyclist.

Avatar
pauldavies83 replied to Some Fella | 9 years ago
0 likes

Not forgetting both BBC and ITV already have free secured cycle parking and showers in their buildings (and BBC staff have been assured this facility will not be withdrawn when the paid facility arrives).

So basically this comes down to a political move and a waste of money. TGfM's paid-for facility in Manchester City Centre is a well-documented failure, this is just more of the same.

Latest Comments