Bike lanes are not enough. Each year, there are 400,000 bicycle thefts in France, according to statistics that date back twenty years, but have never been denied, not to mention the damage or theft of accessories. Therefore, to encourage their constituents to pedal, Greater Lyon, the metropolis of Strasbourg or the City of Paris announce, in their bicycle plans, more parking spaces dedicated to bicycles.
But which car parks are we talking about? Admittedly, it is recommended, to secure a bicycle, to attach the frame and a wheel using a solid lock, to a fixed post. Regulars are therefore wary of “wheel clamps”, these widespread metal racks where the only front wheel is stuck, without protecting the rest of the bike.
However, the number and shape of the arches, the premises, secured or not, underground or in the open air, differ according to the place and the situation. “Parking can be residential, designed to facilitate access to a means of transport such as the train, intended for employees who spend the day at work, barges for a race of a few minutes, cyclists who need to secure the bags in which they store their luggage, even ephemeral events », explains Corinne Verdier, founder of the company Altinnova, which builds parking infrastructure.
Increased activity
“Demand has exploded in recent years, especially for parking the more expensive electrically assisted bicycles”, notes Fabien Bagnon, environmental vice-president of the metropolis of Lyon in charge of active mobility. The community announces the “multiplication by four” arches located on the road, in particular in the heart of Lyon, but also spaces in underground car parks or in former commercial premises. A 1,500-space car park is to be created near Lyon-Part-Dieu station by the end of 2024.
Finally, in dense neighborhoods, where it is difficult to store a bicycle at home, Greater Lyon intends to install 400 “boxes”, locked metal boxes that can hold a dozen bicycles. In Lille, in 2018, the participatory budget, voted by citizens, financed three copies of these “boxes”, placed on sites previously reserved for car parking. The equipment was so successful that the city ordered around 100 in the following years.
Requests from local authorities are leading to increased activity among parking infrastructure producers, in particular the two companies that dominate the French market, Altinnova and Abri Plus. Both manufacture their products in France, which limits the costly import of this rather heavy equipment. “Turnover reaches 22 million euros in 2021, up 50% in one year, while we have gone from 85 to 120 employees”, underlines Grégoire Maes, managing director of Abri Plus, a company created in 1992 to manufacture supermarket trolleys, and which quickly diversified into the design, manufacture, installation and operation of shelters and shelters. hoops. The area devoted to production in Saint-Philbert-de-Grand-Lieu (Loire-Atlantique) will be doubled this year.
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