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“An overly complicated fail”: Station’s double-decker cycle storage slammed as ‘ableist’ and ‘useless’

Manchester Piccadilly’s new bike racks have divided opinion for being less secure and unfriendly for disabled people and pretty much everyone with a non-standard cycle, despite tripling the storage space

After weeks of having no safe cycle storage, Manchester Piccadilly is finally introducing the new two-tiered bike racks. However, several people have expressed their anger at the new storage facilities, which are quite popular in the Netherlands, for not being very user-friendly.

With almost 20 million users annually, the station is the third busiest interchange outside of London, but only had storage space for around 50 bikes.

In February, Manchester Evening News reported that the old facilities had been ripped out as Avanti West Coast planned to introduce 162 new bike storage spaces, in a project funded by charity Sustrans.

However, photographs of the station’s new storage arrangement have popped up, confirming that it is going to be double-decker bike rack system, marking a departure from the previously beloved Sheffield racks.

Andy Smedley, scientist at University of Manchester posted a picture of the bike racks being installed, to which a number of cyclists from Manchester expressed their dismay.

He told road.cc, “I used the old Sheffield racks fairly regularly. They’re right by the main railway station entrance so in a really good spot for a multi-mode commute. They seemed secure, easy to use and had the benefit of CCTV and police parking nearby to deter thieves.”

“They were closed several months ago, which practically meant I stopped using them, and hence stopped using my bike to get around town,” he said. “I was glad to have something back after many weeks with no progress, and although it’s higher capacity, it looks like it’ll be congested and quite hard to use.”

Research fellow at the Active Travel Academy Dr Harrie Larrington-Spencer said: “I'm a disabled cyclist and often used the previous Sheffield stands. I can't use this type of cycle stand with either my bike or trike,” also questioning Network Rail about what kind of cycle parking provisions will they be making for disabled people.

> Residents “threatened with police” after “surrounding” contractors installing bike hangar

Another Twitter user from Salford thought they were “ableist and inconvenient”, while an active travel advocate ‘Cargo Bike Ben’ labelled them “useless”.

Ben also said: “They also don't hold many eBikes (as their tyres are too wide, often have disc brakes which the wheel benders block), and non-standard bikes like cargo bikes have no hope.”

Many other users also raised concerns about the safety of these racks, as the loops are easier to cut through with angle grinders, making chain locks redundant, while also preventing the use of D-locks along with wheel and the seat post tube.

Amidst all these concerns, several people thought that these racks were simply a way of “ticking boxes”, without bothering to consult with real users.

“Horrendous, they take something that works and replace with something that does not. These people need to talk to users sheer arrogance,” replied a user under Andy’s post.

Andy also mentioned feeling torn at the sight of these, noting that they won’t work with tandems, tricycles or electric bikes and lamented the lack of consultation. “It generally seems a poor choice for such a prime location, and it could have been avoided if Network Rail (who I think run the station) had consulted with users,” he told us.

Previously, a similar two-tiered cycle parking arrangement was also installed in Manchester’s Victoria station last September. Back then, when a Twitter cyclist called for such a scheme at Piccadilly, others were quick to point out there grievances.

A cyclist wrote: “I tried to use racks like that at Stalybridge recently - with a frozen shoulder it was too difficult to use the top rack and using the underneath in order to lock up at the right angle for the tiny loop thingy was difficult, painful (banged head) and my D lock actually broke,” adding that “Sheffield stands are the best”.

Double-decker cycle stands are also already available in many London stations, such as Liverpool Street and Victoria, with the former having them since 2009.

It’s interesting to see the pushback against this system of bike storage, something that’s quite common in the Dutch cycling-dominated landscape. In The Hague or Ultrecht, there are accommodations for fitting up to 12,000 cycles at the railway station with the help of two-tiered parking.

> Bike parking nightmare before Christmas as cycle racks to be removed for festive market

The news comes as in a separate scheme, Transport for Greater Manchester recently announced £1 million is to be spent on new and improved cycle storage at stops across Metrolink's Bury line, including covered Sheffield stands with lighting and CCTV in highly visible and accessible locations to be installed at eight stops as part of the project.

Dame Sarah Storey, Active Travel Commissioner for Greater Manchester, said: “Building these cycle parking facilities at local Metrolink stops, where there is currently no suitable provision for leaving a bike, will give an additional choice to local people who don't live within an easy walk of their local station.”

31/03/2023: After publication this article was updated following comment from Transport for Greater Manchester who clarified it has "not led on the delivery or funded Piccadilly Station cycle storage scheme, it is Avanti West Coast and Sustrans".

Adwitiya joined road.cc in 2023 as a news writer after graduating with a masters in journalism from Cardiff University. His dissertation focused on active travel, which soon threw him into the deep end of covering everything related to the two-wheeled tool, and now cycling is as big a part of his life as guitars and football. He has previously covered local and national politics for Voice Wales, and also likes to writes about science, tech and the environment, if he can find the time. Living right next to the Taff trail in the Welsh capital, you can find him trying to tackle the brutal climbs in the valleys.

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26 comments

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AltBren | 11 months ago
1 like

I really like them! Possibly an unpopular opinion.. I think they're a smart way to use the space efficiently. They have them at Euston and did have at vauxhall too, and I always enjoy using the top deck.. though I'm able, so didn't consider that not everyone might find it easy.. (Though I think they got rid of at vauxhall, because homeless people were turning them into tents.. so as usual they ignored the actual problem and spent a load of money to make sure the homeless people weren't on display.)

Maybe a half and half would have been more sensible,

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Adam Sutton | 11 months ago
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I just remembered the epic fail on Southeasterns part. Further to my reply to a comment here, as mentioned Dartford station has these double decker racks. I do use them as it is a relatively secure area with key fob access.

One time I locked my bike to one of the upper racks. Lifted it up and CLONK! it would not go forward. In their brilliant design about half a dozen upper racks are pretty unusable because your bike hits the strip light. Bear in mind I'm 5'6" and my bike is an XS 47cm frame, so not a big bike!

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chrisonabike | 11 months ago
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Devil is definitely in the detail. Leaving aside the issue of ensuring there is provision for mobility vehicles / a few non-standard bikes - there are similar- looking racks which differ a lot in general ease of use and range of bikes which easily fit.

Inspired by OnYerBike I've tried the racks at Edinburgh Waverley Station (apparently from Cycleworks). Despite more "features" and a similar basic plan I can confirm they're *much* less usable than the FalcoLevel Premium design I regularly use at Edinburgh Haymarket.

There's also a similar issue to "my garage is too small for my car". Trends change cycle designs without apparent reference to things like public parking. The market for eBikes is booming. There are trends for wider tyres. Modern mountain bikes have really wide handlebars.

Dunno how easy eBikes would be to park - upper tier parking might be hard for some? For my test the wide bars on a parked MTB stopped me using a slot. That was compounded by the rack design; I might have been able to fiddle round them on the Haymarket ones?

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hawkinspeter | 11 months ago
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There's loads of these type of racks outside of Bristol Temple Meads station - usually with a few non-standard bikes (e.g. cargo bikes) just locked awkwardly to the outside of them.

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ktache replied to hawkinspeter | 11 months ago
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If I had to use any of these parking facilities, I'd be going for an upright on the cover, maybe the upright on the stand.

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joules1975 | 11 months ago
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This doesn't justify that type of rack, but they are common in Edinburgh and other rail locations in Scotland.

If they are in combination with other types of rack for those unable to use the double decker racks (for whatever reason, whether disability or type of bike) then surely this type of rack isn't a problem.

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belugabob | 11 months ago
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These seem to address space/accessibility/security issues...

https://youtu.be/pcZSU40RBrg

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eburtthebike | 11 months ago
3 likes

Slightly off topic, but just listening to PM on R4 and they are talking about cuts to rural buses making transport impossible without a car, quite long with several interviews, including one who said that she couldn't get to the train station, three miles away, without a car.  Guess how many times bicycles or e-bikes were mentioned.

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Sriracha replied to eburtthebike | 11 months ago
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Hmm, I can just imagine the response if anyone suggested people use a bicycle instead. It's either seen as a right wing insult to the lower classes - "why can't the plebs cycle?" Or it's "but the old/ infirm/ disabled/ pregnant/ spherically challenged etc."

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chrisonabike replied to eburtthebike | 11 months ago
1 like

I agree, we still can't say the "C" word on the BBC... however if the train station's on one of those nice derestricted winding rural roads with not even a footpath alongside, height changes, no lighting, hedges etc. - possibly frequented by lorries, muddy farm machinery and locals driving at "local" speed... I can't imagine most people would give the possibility of cycling there a moment's thought.

On the other hand if someone fixed up one of these you might question her choice a bit more:

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jpj84 | 11 months ago
5 likes

For some reason, my local station, out in the boondocks, got these before Piccadilly. As shown, people use the one remaining Sheffield stand in preference, when they can. 
I did actually try using the new double decker, but using the lower tier means scrambling around on hands and knees, banging my head on... everything... when attempting to lock/unlock the bike. It's more or less impossible when the rack is near capacity.
I can't use the upper tier, because the barrier is too close for me to manoeuvre my (ginormous) bike into it.

 Of course, it was installed without consulting any regular users of the pre existing Sheffield stands; and several of us had our locks (that were left on the stands) just thrown away during installation. The folks at GMPTE haven't bothered to reply to any messages about this.

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Awavey replied to jpj84 | 11 months ago
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I thought they were just the standard double deck bike racks at all railway stations thesedays and used else where too. I think, hands up I've never used them in anger myself (because i like to return from a journey and still find my bike left at a railway station) they look worse to use than they actually are in practice.

On the security part they have a point but Sheffield stands are just as cuttable with an angle grinder and you'd never get one of those key fob compounds to work, they'd have to build a Cambridge style bike park, and real estate in Manchester isn't cheap.

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ktache replied to Awavey | 11 months ago
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When my train passes through Wokingham station I see three compounds full of these double decker things, I believe there is some "security" but the doors appear to be open, they have kept a few Sheffields, presumably because the "secure" racks would have been oversubscribed.

Reading has many of the double racks on the Thames side, originally very unsecure, but has kept Sheffields on the town side.

I am still incredibly unlikely to lock up any bicycle at the station. 

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JustTryingToGet... replied to ktache | 11 months ago
1 like
ktache wrote:

When my train passes through Wokingham station I see three compounds full of these double decker things, I believe there is some "security" but the doors appear to be open, they have kept a few Sheffields, presumably because the "secure" racks would have been oversubscribed.

Reading has many of the double racks on the Thames side, originally very unsecure, but has kept Sheffields on the town side.

I am still incredibly unlikely to lock up any bicycle at the station. 

Reading has the double deckers and they are shit. It does have a reasonable amount of Sheffield stands on the North entrance... I've never had a problem finding one free.

Many years ago I had a bike nicked from the stands under the car park cover. I stupidly thought they were under cameras so safer. Learned later that the cameras gave no pictures whatsoever which the thieves knew and would come in a lorry and take the lot.

I think it's better now since the redevelopment but I was locked up next to a guy a couple of weeks ago who had his wheels nicked.

Edit. I hate the arseholes who triple lock on the sheffields town side. I left one bike balanced upside down on top of it once.

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Adam Sutton replied to ktache | 11 months ago
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Southeastern have these in varying forms. Gravesend has a large one that cost a lot. I use Dartford which is quite small and just the double decker type. It costs £50 a year and you get a key fob for access. There is also a lot of cycle parking outside, but it's largely taken by a bike hire company I've never heard of that is never used from what I see.

Dartford could really do with being expanded as a lot of people use it due to the station being the first in the London travel zones and where contactless can be used.

As an example cycling 6 miles to Dartford and using contactless Vs a ticket from my closest station cuts cost by more than 50%.

The stupid thing is they installed a large cycle store at great cost at I think Chatham or Gillingham and no one is using it.

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quiff replied to jpj84 | 11 months ago
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Not helped by the fact they seem to have installed them in the wrong orientation.

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mattw | 11 months ago
4 likes

Nice to see this important issue get some coverage.

In Utrecht they have a separate parking area for non-upwrong cycles, and a separate facility for Cargo Bikes.

 

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visionset | 11 months ago
3 likes

If only there were examples of how to do it, in another country perhaps...

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chrisonabike replied to visionset | 11 months ago
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I think you'll find that these are not dissimilar to what they have in a certain other country [1] [2].  They're needed there because they've been so successful at achieving mass cycling there wouldn't be space for low-density standard UK cycle parking e.g. Sheffield stands.

If there aren't any facilities for disabled users then that needs sorting.  Don't know if there are real issues with tyre width / dimensions?  If they've pinched a Dutch design directly wide tyres should not be an issue.  It is true that "traditional" Dutch bikes don't have disk brakes and tend not to have so many cables - partly to avoid things to get snagged / mangled when parking.  Note there is actually a specific Dutch "anti-wheelbender" design.  Although that may again cause issues for some bikes ("standard bike" is an oxymoron).

Here's how to work the racks - looks possible for most people, no?  As for bikes with additions or special cycles there should be suitable separate space (which would be provided in NL [3] [4] [5]).  Of course that may require some management / supervision to avoid the usual "tragedy of the commons" in which those who don't need the extra space / easier access monopolise those spaces...

Of course in NL they also update their parking facilities where they find there are issues!

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STATO replied to chrisonabike | 11 months ago
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If you are running disc brakes on a commuter then some activist will be along shortly to tell you that your not a ture mobility cyclist and must be a racer and hence part of the problem (prob same activist who now hate this but three tweets previous lauded the 'huge underground bike parking' in europe)  

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chrisonabike replied to STATO | 11 months ago
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Each to their own and the UK's in a transition period.  Hopefully...

My last "commuter" (Cube Travel Exc) had hydraulic discs which were overkill and I worried about banging the rotors / vandals puncturing the hoses but... I did like them.  I've had Sturmey Archer's drum brake / dynamo hub combo which hit the sweet spot for me even in hilly Edinburgh.  Particularly the "unaffected by water or sludge".  Although it's heavy - but then... "city bike" right?  You can also get a beefier version if you're carrying extra weight.

Never tried a coaster brake although I can see the potential benefit of hands-free no-cable braking.  Do they stop you though or merely suggest the bike go a bit slower?

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OnYerBike replied to chrisonabike | 11 months ago
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Have you tried the ones in Edinburgh station? I thought I'd give it a go a few weeks ago, and they are terrible. I have no idea how they are meant to work - the bit where the back wheel goes isn't fixed, and there seems to be some kind of mechanism that is designed to clamp over the rear wheel rim but doesn't seem to work (or at least not in any intuitive sense). Vrey tricky to lock frame and wheels to anything that felt remotely solid. And they don't have a gas strut, so you have to do all the lifting/lowering yourself (or if they had one it wasn't working).

I'm a bit amibivilent towards the better two-tier systems (with gas struts and sensible, secure locking points). I appreciate they are not perfect and don't work with non-standard bikes. But they do dramatically increase the number of cycles that can be stored in a given place, which is a good thing. I also have a tendancy to think the upper tier can offer a bit more security in that it would be harder to do anything surreptitiously, and also off the ground means less purchase or stability for leverage/bolt cutters.

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chrisonabike replied to OnYerBike | 11 months ago
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Waverley you mean?  Never parked there.  I'd had a quick look when passing - didn't notice anything unusual but wasn't looking hard.

Like many in the UK I also feel chunkier stands are "safer" but reality is that cheap cordless angle-grinders have changed the security landscape and people are reluctant to stop an armed thief (luckily there are exceptions!).  So it's always "do I feel lucky / not my best bike?"

Haymarket is my "local" - a bit over three miles from me.  Used to be there several days a week when commuting.  There's a double-stack rack with a set of single-height Sheffield ones.  Though they're looking very tatty now with abandoned / piranha'd bikes and broken racks.  I almost always use the upper of the doubled racks, have done with several different bikes.  I've never had any issues getting a spot, getting the bike in nor any damage or loss.  All the bikes I parked there were clearly 2nd hand though and I used a couple of solid locks.

The issue with Haymarket is they're actually outside the station.  So they don't even feel supervised.  The area is a real "hang-out" particularly with the local bars.  On the other hand, you don't feel like you're in an isolated location but I do find myself keeping an eye on who else is loitering there.

I've used Edinburgh Gateway also to vary the commute.  Low capacity and Sheffields IIRC (not been for over a year) with slightly annoying support bars on the ground.  No problems there either though.

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OnYerBike replied to chrisonabike | 11 months ago
1 like

Yeah, Waverley (not actually my closest station but normally if I'm getting a train I want one of the mainlines and so I just head straight there). To be fair, there are some sheffield stands too (often full) and the location is reasonable (within the station and covered by CCTV, although if I'm being fussy it's quite a long walk from the main concourse and in a relatively quiet area of the station less likely to have passing staff/cops). 

I've done a bit of googling and I thinks the ones they've got are these ones: note the "patented gripping system" (doesn't work) and the "Movable Security Bar" (not secure). 

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chrisonabike replied to OnYerBike | 11 months ago
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Haymarket apparently has Falco racks plus sheffields.  FWIW I think they're the single-sided FalcoLevel Premium [overview] [datasheet].  So there's a gas-piston to slow down lowering / help with raising.  They've got fixed metal loops for locking to.  Not perfect but I've aways managed to find a way to lock both frame and wheels.  Mostly I could with a D-lock but for some bikes a chain was helpful.

They're close together of course so sometimes a bit of manoeuvering is needed to get cables / bars round the bike next to yours.  I always used the top rack in part because I thought using the lower one might lead me to bang my bonce and I'm not always wearing energy-absorbing headgear!

Never tried the recumbent in them!  Never mind the fit, I don't think I'd risk leaving that for too long in public.  Mostly because people's curiosity.  I have seen an almost identical one locked to the Sheffields at Haymarket once though!

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chrisonabike replied to OnYerBike | 11 months ago
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You inspired me - thanks! Took the bike to Waverley this time. See my other comment but I agree - that design is poxy. Maybe closer spacing than Haymarkey? Also managed to bang my head trying to use the lower racks. Since someone's MTB handlebars then blocked me I tried the upper rack. That nearly fell on me (broken "piston" / spring or none?)

I found that locking to the front-tyre metalwork on the upper rack then blocked the rack from closing. I had to lean in and rattle and guide it past the supports - trapping myself behind the rack handles in the process. Their security loop by seat tube doesn't slide sideways so couldn't lock both frame *and* rear wheel.

The gripping system did "work" with a bit of encouragement though - but it does look like it might be bad for your spokes / wheel. The ones at Haymarket avoid this by having a bit at the back of the sliding bar which catches the back of the rear tyre - feels more secure to me, although that means if you had a very long wheelbase either front or back would ride up on the supports a bit. However the Waverley one looks like you'd be stuck in that scenario anyway.

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