A fond farewell to the bike storage facility at Friary Walk (previously Crowngate) shopping centre
Bike storage facility at Friary Walk shopping centre
It is with a heavy heart we say farewell to the Friary Walk bike store, as good a place to lock our bikes as we’ve found anywhere in the world. Whilst we’re gutted to see it go we’d like to take this opportunity to thank Mike Lloyd and the entire Friary Walk team for making this brilliant facility available for free to the community for the last four years. The space has been leased to a rent paying customer, which is obviously desirable the you’re managing a shopping centre.
Following a number of queries we can confirm that Bike Worcester still have access to the workshop space at Friary Walk for the time being, so our bike recycling project will continue.
Bike Worcester were approached by Mike Lloyd in the depths of COVID with an idea of making (at the time) an unused commercial unit available as a place for people to store bikes. It would be under the watchful eyes of CCTV with the security team regularly checking in. What did we think?
It was a no brainer. Mike took on board some advice about types of stands and spacing (there’s wider spaces available for cargo bikes) and also provided a mirror, a repair station, a bench, and later shelving which we used for bike related books, leaflets and other information. Even the look of the unit inside and out was fantastic, including a rogues gallery of bicycle users on the wall, the vast majority of which are now part of the Bike Worcester network.
The repair station, provided free of charge
Shelving containing magazines books, leaflets and maps
It gets better. If the security team spotted a bike without a lock, they’d secure it with their own D lock, which included contact details to arrange for it to be unlocked. I know, right? And yes, I have made use of this facility (despite having a lock I suspect I got chatting and forgot to lock it).
A D lock provided by the security team for bikes left unlocked
We’ve used it to store our bikes, fix our bikes, and help others fix their bikes. We’ve struck up friendships there (it’s where I first met Jim), have used it as meeting point for other friends, and it’s been instrumental in growing Bike Worcester. It’s been used as a drop of point for donated bikes, and a handover point for recycled bikes we’ve repaired. And make no mistake we’ve made use of the shops, cafes and bars in Friary Walk and the immediate vicinity more frequently as a result of this generous provision.
Recycled bike collection
From its conception to the day it closes, it has been absolutely outstanding, so chapeau to Mike, and the Friary Walk Team.
A member of the security teami a D lock
The facilities continuous use since its opening, and the sense of loss from the community as a result of it’s closing clearly demonstrates the need for high quality and secure bike storage in the city, so now is the time for this to be provided by the City Council, County Council and housing providers. This is not only a requirement for destinations within the city centre, but also where people live; we are regularly contacted by people who want to cycle for journeys in the city but have limited space for storage at home.
On average 20% of households in the city don’t have access to a car or van, which increases to 75% in some areas of the city centre. To suggest this isn’t needed assuming everyone drives is ill informed. Worcester already is a 15 minute city, in that you can get from the centre to the outskirts in any direction in about 15 minutes by bike.
If we’re serious about increasing rates of active travel (it remains City Council, County Council and central Government Policy) and for all members of society to reap the benefits of this, we shouldn’t be relying on community champions like Mike on behalf of private companies to provide it.
Increasing the number of journeys by bike benefits everyone in the community. It’s time for Worcester to catch up with other towns and cities in the UK.
