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MediaCityUK gets brand new bike hub with safe parking for 300 commuters

Secure parking, showers, and lockers from just £2 a week

The long-awaited cycle hub at Media City in Salford, Greater Manchester, is now open and provides a safe place to leave a bike with additional benefits for commuters.

The Hub is located behind Orange Tower, home to ITV and the University of Salford, and close to the BBC’s Dock House.

Its innovative design reflects the area’s maritime heritage, with four repurposed shipping containers linked and covered by a vaulted glazed roof to allow plenty of natural light.

On offer are:

  •     300 secure, covered cycle parking spaces available 24 hours a day
  •     A mixed range of cycling stands
  •     Male and female showers and toilets for premium members
  •     Heated locker room for premium members
  •     CCTV/swipe card entry

Membership starts at around £2 a week, with a premium membership (£200 a year) giving you access to cycle parking, showers, changing facilities and a personal locker.

Standard membership just gives you access to cycle parking and costs £100 a year.

Both levels of membership also provide access to secure, covered cycle parking at the growing network of district Cycle Hubs which are already open across the region.

Cycle Hub with 300 secure parking spaces for Salford's MediaCityUK

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

Councillor Andrew Fender, chair of the TfGM Committee, commented: “It’s great to see MediaCityUK’s new cycle hub take that next step to becoming a reality.

“MediaCityUK is now one of the region’s major employers, with over 200 businesses on-site, and we want to make travel to work there as sustainable as possible. We already have frequent direct Metrolink and bus services and we know there is huge demand to cycle too.

“The cycle hub will allow people to leave their bikes behind in safety, as well as offering a place to take a shower and store their belongings.

“Along with affordable membership rates we hope a hub at MediaCityUK will encourage more people to join the thousands who are already commuting by bike.”

Stephen Wild, managing director of MediaCityUK, added: “Bikes have become the must-use mode of transport for persons working, living or visiting MediaCityUK, so it is fantastic to partner with TfGM to bring the cycle hub to our community.

“It promises to be a great addition and is just one of many exciting initiatives that we aim to roll out to encourage more people to get on their bikes and utilise the many safe and attractive routes that connect to MediaCityUK.”

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4 comments

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Mattrb78 | 8 years ago
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I not only use this facility as a premium member but also really like it.
All those that want it to be free would be best off having a look at the place as it is worth every penny. Piece of mind that my bike is secure plus able to get showered and changed everyday is great. Beats getting changed in a disabled toilet and washing in a sink. Really great stuff. Now all we need is the infrastructure as there is nothing to speak of around here. So many people scared of cycling due to bad design!

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Some Fella | 8 years ago
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I hate to be a Negative Neddy but developers of large (and extremely lucrative) developments like this should be made to provide secure, and free, cycle parking and suitable changing facilities. Its should be embedded in planning law. Huge multi storey car parks went up at the same time and im sure many of the companies who are tenants at Media City offer free car parking for their employees. I would hope they offer a similar offer to cycling employees.
Also the tedious membership scheme discourages impromptu cycle journeys down there for workers and visitors alike.
Media city is a highly controlled space and i envisage a time when bicycles that arent parked or locked up in the cycle hub will be considered a nuisance, as there isnt a huge amount of dedicated cycle racks there, and the security goons that patrol round there will remove them.
I actually wouldnt be averse to paying a couple of quid if i thought my bike was secure but i dont want to have to sign up to some membership scheme - i'd rather just pay and go. That, unfortunately, is beyond the capabilities of TfGM who are pretty useless when it comes to cycling. Absolutely no meaningful cycle infrastructure went in when Media City was built and getting to and from there on a bike is as difficult and dangerous as anywhere else in most British cities

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svenrokk replied to Some Fella | 8 years ago
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Some Fella wrote:

Huge multi storey car parks went up at the same time and im sure many of the companies who are tenants at Media City offer free car parking for their employees. I would hope they offer a similar offer to cycling employees.

Media city is a highly controlled space and i envisage a time when bicycles that arent parked or locked up in the cycle hub will be considered a nuisance, as there isnt a huge amount of dedicated cycle racks there, and the security goons that patrol round there will remove them.

Free parking will depend on the company. Companies get some spaces with office rent, but outside of that, parking passes are £1,000+ a year, so I doubt they're handed out too freely.

There are loads of Sheffield stands all around MediaCity. The ones right outside office entrances quickly get filled up, but there are always spare ones around, usually nearer to offices than where this hub is. Unlike Spinningfields, the security are pro-cycling and now do a really good job of patrolling everywhere and warning people when they're using insufficiently weedy locks.

I agree with you about the lack of infrastructure getting to MediaCity. It's ridiculous that there still isn't a decent route connecting it to the city centre. And if TfGM get their way, everyone who cycles to it from the south will be disrupted by the new tram line to the Trafford Centre.

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srchar | 8 years ago
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Something like this is needed in every major city in the country.

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