Bikes parked in the hallways? Despite parking racks scattered across the campus, staffers at Wayne State University’s Computing and Information Technology building needed more security and protection for their bikes. So last July the Detroit university added its first covered bike shelter, opting for Duo-Gard’s Harbor model.
“Many of our younger staff members are bikers, and the shelter was placed primarily with them in mind, although it’s open to anyone,” says Lawrence Bott, associate director of critical facilities support.
A biker himself, Bott did an internet search and located Duo-Gard. The Harbor model he selected is one of Duo-Gard’s standards, a three-sided style shaped in a sleek, contemporary curve. Its glazing is clear 6-millimeter translucent polycarbonate, framed in steel fabricated at Duo-Gard’s in-house facility and painted white with a three-coat Tnemec finish for durability. The 8-x12-foot structure at Wayne State holds a parking rack that accommodates 11-13 bikes.
“We wanted something that would blend in with our existing building,” Bott says, “so we situated it eight feet from the back, taking advantage of a space in the parking lot. By adding some tables, we also created a pleasant spot for relaxing.”
Located in the same city block as the campus police station and sharing the parking lot, the shelter contains a 24-hour security camera and LED lighting added by the university.
Bott says there’s a lot of community activism for biking in the area, and he believes as Detroit’s resurgence accelerates, so will the interest in biking as alternative transportation. As for Wayne State, he says everybody is “very happy” with the shelter: “We were very impressed with the quality of the shelter and the smoothness of Duo-Gard’s installation procedure. It all went just as we hoped it would.”
