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Bike park within Amazon and Microsoft's Cambridge office building located down several flights of stairs

"How has something so rubbish been built?" asks local councillor...

A new office block in Cambridge which will hold some of the most forward thinking tech companies in the world has located its underground cycle park down several flights of stairs.

In a move branded ‘rubbish’ by a local councillor, the location, at the Amazon and Microsoft offices, will be inconvenient and disadvantage the disabled, according to campaigners.

The 137,000 sq ft office space is opposite Cambridge Central Station, a city with one of the highest cycling populations in the country.

Chris Howell, a former Conservative city councillor said: “The block attracts some of the highest rents in the city, and there are very limited car parking spaces available to people working in the block, so almost everyone is expected to arrive by bike, foot or public transport.

“A fit, able-bodied cyclist with a light bike and no panniers would struggle with these stairs - anyone else - I suspect the cycle park is utterly useless,” he said in a blog, entitled How Not To Build A Cycle Park.

“This is a brand new, high profile office building in the cycling capital of the UK - how has something so rubbish been built?”

A spokesman for Camcycle, a local campaign group, told the Cambridge News: “Cycle parking should help make cycling the natural, easy choice, so that people are motivated to use it.

“This is yet another failure of the CB1 development. It highlights the need for the City Council to have a full-time Cycling Officer to scrutinise plans like these, and for the Planning Department and Councillors to stop allowing through proposals which create long-term problems.

“We invite the owners of the building to be filmed attempting to use this cycle parking with a trailer or heavier bike. We will be happy to supply such a bike, and invite the Cambridge News to come and photograph and video their attempt."

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22 comments

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kitsunegari | 7 years ago
0 likes

The whole development at the train station in Cambridge is absolutely criminal. I'm not surprised at all by this.

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LastBoyScout | 7 years ago
1 like

Where I work, the bike racks are in the car park. Which would generally be fine, except that they are sandwiched between a row of parked cars and the wall, which means not a lot of room to manouvre bikes in and out of it without hitting either a car or the wall. Although it has a roof on it, it's not exactly the best of weather protection.

No surprise, though, considering whoever designed the car park saw fit to put the motorbike parking up 2 floors on the roof, rather than in the obvious place just inside the entrance which has been given over to 3 car parking spaces.

 

I work for a company that supplies, among other things, planning software - perhaps I should sneak in a few fields for cycling provision and some validation code that it can't be approved until they are all filled in...

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Twowheelsaregreat replied to LastBoyScout | 7 years ago
3 likes

LastBoyScout wrote:

I work for a company that supplies, among other things, planning software - perhaps I should sneak in a few fields for cycling provision and some validation code that it can't be approved until they are all filled in...

 

Why perhaps? Put it forwards as a system improvement. Maybe you will reap the benefits in the form of a promotion later. You can mention your system improvement at an interview and it will only be seen positively. You will state your motivation for doing it and how you came to identify the lack of this facility and the need for it within your planning software. Drive for change from within. Don't be a commentator; be a game changer. There that's my motivational talk for the month.

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speculatrix | 7 years ago
3 likes

By the way, this is not the Microsoft building, that's a few hundred metres away.
This is the Amazon, Thales, DeLoitte and Carter Jonas building.
Cambridge News don't proof read nor do they appear to have fact checkers.

Sorry for autocorrect errors.

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speculatrix | 7 years ago
3 likes

The ramps alongside the stairs are painted and too smooth, so when wet, bicycle tyres just skid down.
And don't forget there's two sets of fire doors at the bottom, so close to the steps that the back wheel is still on the ramp, making it difficult to hold the doors, get the bike into the gap and then hold the next doors you finally make it into the bike store.

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CXR94Di2 | 7 years ago
0 likes

Do you see the push ramp on each side? It may not be ideal but it least it's safe and somewhere provided for bikes

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speculatrix | 7 years ago
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speculatrix | 7 years ago
4 likes

I work in that building.
The blog post featured in Cambridge News is all true.
The terrible design of the bike park access has been a massive nuisance to many, people with cargo bikes and heavy electric bikes have been really hacked off about it. The building managers have suggested people park nearby. The only nearby place is the station bike park, which has the highest rates of cycle theft, and it is known that the police can't be bothered to check the cctv!
Therefore some people have given up riding to work.

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Ratfink | 7 years ago
1 like

Paging the Stannah design department.

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brooksby | 7 years ago
0 likes

Are those meant to be ramps at the side of stairs, for you to wheel a bike up/down? Not sure how you wheel the bike around the corner??

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wycombewheeler | 7 years ago
4 likes

Ah yes health and safety over reaction by organisations that accept cyclists can mix with motor vehicles outside on roads with speed limits of up to 70mph. But will not accept the 'risk on their premesis.

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hawkinspeter | 7 years ago
1 like

I've got a new proposal.

When designing/thinking about new building work and installing/improving any kind of cycling facilities (including roads/paths), it should be make compulsory to ask the opinion of at least one regular cyclist nearby (e.g. one of the cleaners/canteen staff or maybe someone off the street). And by asking their opinion, it has to be open questions and not some bullshit questionnaire that asks the wrong questions.

There - that should only add 5 minutes to any planning. How difficult is that?

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FluffyKittenofT... replied to hawkinspeter | 7 years ago
4 likes
hawkinspeter wrote:

I've got a new proposal.

When designing/thinking about new building work and installing/improving any kind of cycling facilities (including roads/paths), it should be make compulsory to ask the opinion of at least one regular cyclist nearby (e.g. one of the cleaners/canteen staff or maybe someone off the street). And by asking their opinion, it has to be open questions and not some bullshit questionnaire that asks the wrong questions.

There - that should only add 5 minutes to any planning. How difficult is that?

I'd favour a system whereby the council officers responsible for giving planning permission should show some basic level of competence or be fired.

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salokin | 7 years ago
1 like

Well it's no worse than the ridiculous designs and placement of cycle paths all over the UK. Archway has the most ludicrous layout, near Crouch end the bike path cuts through a bus stop, all over there is bad design, so to see this is expected. In Antwerp this is quite normal, there is a path on the left and right for you to take the bike up and down...I've seen worse in some offices I've worked in, like having NOTHING AT ALL!

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duk31nlondon | 7 years ago
0 likes

There has to be a delivery bay with an access ramp for vans and trucks that service this buildings. Bike parking in the companies I've worked for are always accessed through that entrance. These buildings don't have one?

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srchar replied to duk31nlondon | 7 years ago
5 likes

duk31nlondon wrote:

There has to be a delivery bay with an access ramp for vans and trucks that service this buildings. Bike parking in the companies I've worked for are always accessed through that entrance. These buildings don't have one?

I used to park in Canary Wharf's underground cycle park. Bikes are actually banned from using the access ramps. You can choose between three flights of (slippery, marble) stairs, or a small service lift with room for one bike stood on its back wheel - which isn't possible if you have mudguards, like most commuters do. And that'll be £18 a month, please.

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Dr_Lex | 7 years ago
1 like

Service lift, perhaps?

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Flying Scot | 7 years ago
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If that's a new building all floors need to be accessible by a lift, so I assume they didn't install a lift, or if they did, its the wrong shape.

Or indeed is it an existing building therefore this may be the best they can do/non story?

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esnifador replied to Flying Scot | 7 years ago
1 like
Flying Scot wrote:

If that's a new building all floors need to be accessible by a lift, so I assume they didn't install a lift, or if they did, its the wrong shape.

Or indeed is it an existing building therefore this may be the best they can do/non story?

A comment on the blog notes that the service lift's location means it can't be used for the bike parking, but doesn't elaborate as to why.

Similarly the blog mentions that any cyclists attempting to use the vehicle access ramp incur 'the wrath of the building managers', so it sounds like there's a no cycling policy for the approach to the cycle parking!

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speculatrix replied to esnifador | 7 years ago
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esnifador wrote:

A comment on the blog notes that the service lift's location means it can't be used for the bike parking, but doesn't elaborate as to why.

The goods lift would be plenty big enough, but is in the middle of the building, and there's no access from the rear of the building.. actually there is access, but not for staff, with separate access doors, and it's down a long corridor. I feel sorry for the workers having to carry bulky things to the goods lift!

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FluffyKittenofT... replied to Flying Scot | 7 years ago
3 likes
Flying Scot wrote:

If that's a new building all floors need to be accessible by a lift, so I assume they didn't install a lift, or if they did, its the wrong shape.

Or indeed is it an existing building therefore this may be the best they can do/non story?

The item itself says 'new office block', and the linked blog states

Quote:

Remember this is a brand new, high profile office building in the cycling capital of the UK - how has something so rubbish been built? Do we blame the developers who built it, or the Council that gave it planning permission?

So I think your suggestion that it might be 'an existing building' is misguided.

For some reason it cheers me to see that its a conservative councillor who's objecting to it.

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burtthebike | 7 years ago
12 likes

Welcome to cycle planning UK style; anything will do as long as you can  pretend that cyclists have been considered, and it isn't just cycle parking in buildings, it's road design too.  Never mind that cyclists have to through umpteen sets of traffic light controlled crossings, very effectively deterring them, or are thrown out into the traffic stream at the most dangerous point, we've  ticked the box that says we've considered cyclists.

How about naming and shaming the architects?

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