Creating a bike store: the best-value project in a building

Bikes in the hall are not a civility problem: they are a storage problem. And that can be solved.

Bikes chained to the stair rail, a pram in the corridor, a child’s bike on the landing: it irritates everyone and returns at every meeting. Reminders of the rules rarely fix it, because it is not a behaviour problem but the absence of an alternative.

A bike store is one of the rare condo projects with a modest cost, an immediately visible result and a real gain in how the building is used. It is also an easy file for a board to prepare.

Finding the space: start with an inventory

Most buildings have an underused space: a former caretaker’s lodge, a decommissioned technical room, a corner of the car park, a shared cellar, an under-stair void, or simply a wide enough section of hall. Listing the common rooms is often the first surprise.

• Level access or a ramp: a half-basement with six steps will not be used.
• A wide enough door and an unobstructed route.
• A light point, ideally on a sensor.
• Floor space allowing stands rather than a simple rail — the only way to lock the frame.
• A room that compromises neither escape routes nor access to technical equipment.

That last point deserves serious checking: an improvised store in an escape route creates a risk, as noted in the fire safety checklist.

What gets voted

Assigning a common room to a new use, installing fixed equipment or altering an access are meeting decisions. The applicable majority depends on the exact nature of the operation: a simple fit-out, or a transformation of a common area.

The resolution is better off covering everything at once: fit-out, budget, how places are allocated and how access works. Otherwise the subject returns every year. See how to draft workable resolutions.

House rules, decided in advance

• How many places per unit, if demand exceeds capacity.
• What is allowed: bikes, e-bikes, scooters, child trailers.
• Battery charging, which deserves a clear position given the fire risk.
• What happens to obviously abandoned bikes, and how they are removed.
• Access: same key as the bin store, a dedicated fob, or a code.

Abandoned bikes always appear after two years. The method that works is the one used for abandoned vehicles: dated marking, general notice, a deadline, then removal.

Security and insurance

A bike store concentrates value: a few e-bikes quickly exceed several thousand. A solid door, a serious lock, anchored stands and lighting deter most of it.

State clearly that the association does not insure private property stored there: it is the first misunderstanding after a theft. The subject sits close to handling a claim.

Funding

The real cost is usually lower than the meeting imagines: a few stands, lighting and a lock are modest per unit. Local grants for secure bike parking exist in many places — check before pricing.

Present the cost per unit rather than the total: that is what carries this kind of project, as set out in funding works.

As long as there is nowhere to store a bike, it stays in the hall — no reminder of the rules will change that.

Prepare the project with CoproHarmony

CoproHarmony lists common rooms, gathers quotes and photos, tracks the meeting decision and records place allocations. Create your free space.