Bike Racks: WCC LDC Bike Shelter

The thoughtful folks of the WCC Bike Club have provided a pump

I'm very happy with the racks where I (usually) park when I'm at work. Whatcom Community College has some good racks and some bad racks -- luckily I can use one of the good ones.

On the north side of the college administration building, the Laidlaw Center (LDC), is a long row of dual racks under a clear roof. Bikes are protected from the weather, and the area is well-lit day and night.

The racks combine a wheel stirrup at ground level with an angled upright. The two sides are spaced far enough apart that it's not much trouble to park when one of them is already half utilized. It would be nice if the individual units were had a bit more distance between them, but it's still workable.

The metal uprights have a plastic or rubber wrap near the top to help protect the finish of nicely painted bikes. I don't care about my paint job, but I know some people really get uptight about theirs. Wait'll I show you my bike... 

The rack design keeps your bike from rolling away (the stirrup) while simultaneously providing a nice support for the frame (the padded upright). It's nice to have the bike be stable while detaching/attaching lights & bags, and this rack design provides that stability. No hip-check is required to keep the bike in place before you lock it to the rack. 

My be-stickered bike, happily secured with a u-lock

It almost goes without saying, but this design is great for u-locks. It's dead simple to secure a frame and one wheel to the upright. And riding to the racks is easy -- there are wheelchair accessible curb cuts in the parking lot adjacent to the shelter so you can just roll right up off the street.

Is it the perfect bike parking solution? Just about -- but there are a couple niggles. First, smokers use one end of the bike shelter as a smoking shelter. They probably shouldn't be, but they're being allowed to. Second, I don't work in the LDC! I wish I did, just to be closer to the nice bike shelter, but I work elsewhere on campus. Not so far elsewhere that I can't manage the walk, but still. You'll soon get to be delighted by the bike racks at my building and you'll no longer wonder why I think the trek is worth it. Finally, on the busiest of sunny days every parking spot gets taken. This is a good problem to have, but it's still a problem.

 Verdict: The WCC LDC bike shelter rates a firm Good. I just wish there were more like them sprinkled around campus. And I wish the smokers would take their foul pollution elsewhere.