(Source: Denver Post) RTD now is charging bicycle riders $30 every six months to lease a bike locker at transit stations and park-n-Rides.The biannual cost for bike storage is on top of an initial $20 padlock fee that locker users also must pay.

The Regional Transportation District’s new pricing policy replaces one in which cyclists could renew locker leases every six months at no cost beyond the one-time $20 padlock fee.

RTD has 700 bike lockers at about 50 stations and parking lots throughout the area.

Genevieve Hutchison, RTD’s bicycle program coordinator, said the policy change is not a way to make more money but rather to give transit users a better chance at leasing lockers.

RTD sent a letter to locker lease holders advising them of the change, and warning them if they do not renew under the new terms when their leases expire, their locks will be cut off and the contents of the locker disposed of.

RTD officials were concerned that some of those leasing lockers were not using them but merely holding onto the storage space because it cost them nothing to do so after payment of the initial lock fee.

During a portion of Thursday’s afternoon rush hour at the Interstate 25/Broadway light-rail station, no one appeared to be using the 30 bike lockers at that location.

Many still bore the sign: “Purchase a non-refundable $20.00 RTD padlock and the lockers are FREE!”

Jenny Hall, who lives in West Washington Park and rides her bike to the station to take light rail, had locked her bike at a rack near the lockers.

She said she doesn’t need a closed locker.

Hall takes her bike seat with her on the train if bad weather is threatening.

Her boyfriend takes his front wheel along with the seat when he locks his bike at a light-rail station rack, Hall said.

“In fact, his car was stolen at the Alameda station,” she added. “He’s had better luck with his bike.”

Jeffrey Leib: 303-954-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com

Wait stations

RTD transit stations and park-n-Rides with the longest waiting lists for bike lockers:

Boulder Transit Center

Broomfield

Civic Center Station

Cold Spring

Littleton Downtown

Littleton Mineral

Market Street Station

Nine Mile Station

Oxford Station

Table Mesa

Union Station

Yale Station

Source: RTD

BikeDenver needs your help to reach our goal of recognizing 100 Bicycle Friendly Businesses by Bike to Work Day, 2009! The Bicycle Friendly Business Program (BFB) was launched in February, 2008 to recognize Denver-area businesses that are leading the way to make bicycling an easy and convenient form of transportation. Currently, 52 different businesses and organizations have been tapped for this honor, including the first Bicycle-Friendly Business honoree and a BikeDenver favorite, WaterCourse!

Owner Dan Landes says: “WaterCourse Foods has been offering a discount to bike riders for the past 12 years.  Our motivation was to encourage alternative transportation from outside of walking distance, to alleviate parking congestion and provide a benefit and incentive to our clientele.  We were honored to be the first recipient of the BFB and display our decal with pride.   I believe being a BFB has worked wonders for our restaurants and I would encourage other businesses to consider what they can do to make their operation more bicycle friendly.”   

BikeDenver needs YOU to help nominate more Bicycle Friendly Businesses: If you work for or patronize a business or other organization that is bicycle-friendly, please nominate them this month for Bicycle Friendly Business recognition! Click on the BFB logo on our home page to fill out a quick 15-question survey that will help us determine eligibility. We’ll send YOUR favorite business or workplace a certificate of recognition AND a bicycle friendly recognition decal for their front door, and we’ll post a link to the business on our website.

Thank you for helping promote and encourage bicycling in Denver! Your nomination will help raise awareness in Denver by highlighting the businesses that are working hard to welcome bicyclists!

To nominate your business, or any business or workplace as a BikeDenver Bicycle Friendly Business, Click here!

During the first quarter of 2009, more bicycles were sold in the US than cars and trucks. While the Great Recession is hurting bike sales, they didn’t fall as fast as automobiles. Around 2.6 million bicycle purchases were made, compared to less than 2.5 million cars and trucks that left our nation’s lots.  See the full story here.

BikeDenver pelotons will leave from nine different locations on Bike to Work Day (June 24th) at 7:00am to converge on the main breakfast station at Civic Center. We’re organizing the pelotons to engage bicyclists in each of these communities and offer a great group atmosphere for the novice to experienced cyclist to help encourage more people to ride to work on a regular basis. We’ve planned the routes, now we need YOUR help to lead rides from your neighborhood and promote the ride to your friends, colleagues and neighbors. We’re also looking for community leaders who’ll commit to riding along with us. If you’d like to join us in this role, or suggest someone else, please contact Jamie Medina (jcmchef@comcast.net). If you’d like to help us organize and lead a peloton, sign up here: Peloton Sign Ups

Peloton Departures, 7:00am, June 24

32nd & Lowell

Cherry Creek North

City Park

Curtis Park

Congress/Cheeseman Park

Platt Park

Washington Park

Rude Park Recreation Center

Sloan’s Lake

In January 2009, the Downtown Denver Business Improvement District (BID) Board approved a total of $50,000 to be used to enhance bicycle parking facilities throughout the BID. A portion of that funding ($20,000) was solely dedicated to the improvement of bicycle parking facilities located on private properties within the BID boundaries. The purpose of this program is to encourage patrons of the BID, including customers, visitors, and employees, to ride their bicycles into and throughout Downtown Denver. Since a strong deterrent of bicycle use is lack of secure and highly visible bicycle parking locations, the BID hopes this funding can help encourage the use of bicycles by reducing the number of barriers to use.

The program will provide matching funds to property owners within the Downtown Denver BID boundaries who agree to install bicycle parking facilities and/or enhance existing facilities (by adding lighting, security features, etc.) in aconvenient location for use by patrons and/or employees. By providing secure parking for bicycles, businesses and property owners can attract more bicycleriding customers and/or employees and free up valuable parking spaces for other visitors.  For application information click here: bpmf-application-guidelines-packet-final

Breaking News: The Rocky Mountain Bicycle Show has opened registration to the entire cycling industry. In keeping with the planned evolution of the show, RMBS/09 will include all areas of the cycling industry while highlighting the custom framebuilders in the Framebuilder’s Showcase. Both an industry and consumer show, RMBS/09 offers the opportunity to display cycling related products, sell them, all for hundreds if not thousands of dollars below most trade show rates. RMBS/09 will also feature the amazing collection of bicycle art from world renowned collector Howie Cohen, a History of the Bicycle display designed by vintage/classic guru Mike Kone, a weekend ArtBike! Kids Corner, free 2 oz samples of beer from Colorado’s best microbrews, and Bicycle Colorado’s Bicycle Rodeo.

Join us on the Friday evening before the show for ArtBike! Presents RMBS Rock Out! Expect live music, benefit raffles, and much more. On the Saturday evening of the show, RMBS will present the Boulder 6, a night of six days racing, hosted by Boulder Indoor Cycling. Only 150 tickets will be sold to this night of track racing, free beer and food.

RMBS/09 will benefit both Bicycle Colorado and BikeDenver. Ride your bike to the show, and BikeDenver’s bike valet will park your bike. There’s something for everyone at the Rocky Mountain Bicycle Show. Tickets are $10 at the door, kids under 12 are free. A combo ticket for both the Boulder 6 and RMBS/09 is $23, with 75 tickets available at BIC beginning June 1. 75 tickets will be sold on Saturday, August 22 at RMBS/09 for the Boulder 6 are $15.

WHAT: Rocky Mountain Bicycle Show (RMBS/09)
WHERE: Denver, CO at the National Western Complex
WHEN: August 22 & 23
REGISTER: go to www.rmbshow.com for online registration beginning May 20

Hope to see you at the Show!

Fall in love with Denver bike paths for the first time, or fall in love with them all over again!  Join BikeDenverites on the 4th annual Denver Metric Century Tour on May 30th.  We’ll meet at 9am for a social organized ride (about 63 miles) from Washington Park to ride some of Denver’s best bike paths including Cherry Creek, Highline Canal and Platte River paths.   We stop at all crossings to re-group and there’ll be an experienced rider or two in the lead, middle and rear of the group.  A lunch stop and a social conclusion at the Vine Street Pub on 17th are planned.  Please see the ride flyer for more detail or email bikerossmiller@gmail.com with any questions! Click here for ride info:metric-century-ride-20091

BikeDenver provided free community bike parking at The Denver Post Colorado Colfax Marathon this morning.  Our hardy volunteers were there at 4:00am!!  We parked more than one hundred bicycles, longboards, and baby strollers and we even “parked” about 20 racer bags at crunch time prior to the 6:00am start.  In fact, one of our bag parkers turned out to be  half-marathon winner Andrew Smith!  He left his bag with us just prior to the 6:00am start, and was back not too long after his 7:10am finish .