A secure cycle parking facility in the centre of Leicester has been reopened under new management after a year-long refurbishment programme. The Bike Park, which is located beneath Leicester Town Hall, incorporates showers, lockers and a bike shop as well as parking spaces for 110 bikes.
According to the BBC, the premises were refurbished at a cost of £200,000 jointly funded by the Department for Transport and Leicester City Council, which has awarded the lease to operate the facility to local bike shop, Future Cycles, whose directors also helped get the city’s first bike recycling scheme under way and provide cycle maintenance courses, among other things. They also plan to initiate a cycle hire scheme from the Bike Park.
According to the Leicester City Council, the number of people cycling has more than doubled in Leicester in the past five years, and the Bike Park is one of several initiatives to encourage more people to choose sustainable transport. Smart card ticketing will be introduced at the bike park, which the council hopes will act as a central hub for everything bike-related in the East Midlands city.