Secure Bike Parking.?

M. Barbee said:

It's $50/yr for the secure parking, which I find to be a reasonable and comparable price after
looking at a survey for bike locker rental fees in different places that I found on some website
that I can't remember now.

I'm curious- do auto parkers at your company have to pay for their parking spaces, rent them on a
yearly basis? Or does the company pick up this cost?

In article <[email hidden]>, mbarbee_no_spam_ [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I have been commuting to work year round for over two years. My office will be moving soon.
Presently, I lock my bike to some racks outside of my building. However, as a result of the moving
process, I only just now learned that we've always had some secure parking available in bike
lockers in an underground garage and that they will be moving those lockers to one garage at our
new office location and also building a bike room in another of the new above ground garages. So
I'm considering using the secure parking, although free use of outside racks will still be
availabe at the new building also. It's $50/yr for the secure parking, which I find to be a

That is *very* cool that you have choices for bike parking!

Quoted message said:

reasonable and comparable price after looking at a survey for bike locker rental fees in different
places that I found on some website that I can't remember now. So a couple of questions for anyone
who has used secure parking or bike lockers.

First, do lockers make it okay to leave your light system on your bike? In the past I've taken the
light in and left the battery or taken the battery in and left the light. But when leaving the
battery out during some of the coldest winter days, I believe that may have been bad for the
condition of the battery or the contacts, so I've taken to always bringing the battery

The battery getting cold will reduce its usable capacity while cold but should not do any permanent
damage; it should be back to normal when it warms up. Taking it in will help lengthen your charge
cycle on the way home.

....

--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

Quoted message said:

Dan Daniel [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

It's $50/yr for the secure parking, which I find to be a reasonable and comparable price after
looking at a survey for bike locker rental fees in different places that I found on some website
that I can't remember now.

I'm curious- do auto parkers at your company have to pay for their parking spaces, rent them on a
yearly basis? Or does the company pick up this cost?

No company "picks up the cost" for any employee benefit. Those benefits are part of the employee's
compensation. If the OP's employer rents parking spaces for their employees to use but one of their
employees elects not to use their space, that employee doesn't receive a pay increase do they? My
health insurance through my employer automatically covers my spouse but if I were single my paycheck
wouldn't be one penny larger (although I *would* have more disposable income <g>😉 despite the lower
cost to my employer. Sorry Dan... there's nitpicking and then there's outrageous nitpicking. Your
implied criticism falls in the second category. Of course, if you weren't implying that it's unfair
to charge employees for bike lockers while not directly charging them for a parking place then I'll
retract my reply.

Regards, Bob Hunt

"Dan Daniel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

M. Barbee said:

It's $50/yr for the secure parking, which I find to be a reasonable and comparable price after
looking at a survey for bike locker rental fees in different places that I found on some
website that I can't remember now.

I'm curious- do auto parkers at your company have to pay for their parking spaces, rent them on a
yearly basis? Or does the company pick up this cost?

Auto drivers have to pay 100/mo. reserved or $10 a day for daily unreserved parking as available. I
can understand that question. It would be nice to make secure bike parking available on a monthly
basis since most people don't bike year round. But I think the present options are fair.

"David Kerber" <ns_dkerber@ns_ids.net> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

mbarbee_no_spam_

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

in an underground garage and that they will be moving those

lockers to one

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

garage at our new office location and also building a bike

room in another

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

of the new above ground garages. So I'm considering using the

secure

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

parking, although free use of outside racks will still be

availabe at the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

new building also. It's $50/yr for the secure parking, which

I find to be a

Quoted message said:

That is *very* cool that you have choices for bike parking!

Wish I had choice. If you ride a beater and remove everything valuable and have a $50 lock then you
can use the free outside rack. The more secure, the better, more enjoyable bike you can ride and the
more you can leave on the bike for a faster getaway on those nights where the temperature fell way
low and the wind sprang way up. That's worth $50 per year on its own. Same for not having to carry a
2 pound lock.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

reasonable and comparable price after looking at a survey for

bike locker

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

rental fees in different places that I found on some website

that I can't

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

remember now. So a couple of questions for anyone who has

used secure

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

parking or bike lockers.

First, do lockers make it okay to leave your light system on

your bike? In

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the past I've taken the light in and left the battery or taken

the battery

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

in and left the light. But when leaving the battery out

during some of the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

coldest winter days, I believe that may have been bad for the

condition of

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the battery or the contacts, so I've taken to always bringing

the battery

Quoted message said:

The battery getting cold will reduce its usable capacity while

cold but

Quoted message said:

should not do any permanent damage; it should be back to normal

when it

Quoted message said:

warms up. Taking it in will help lengthen your charge cycle on

the way

Quoted message said:

home.

Could cold cause increased crystalization in some battery types?

Right now I have a pretty secure outside bike rack. I always take the battery in because I recharge
it. I take incandescents with non rechargables inside because I want to see on the way home. With
LEDs I take the easy-to-remove ones in because I want to have them for the ride home. When my
company moves downtown and I'm stuck with an outside non secure rack, I'll ride the crappiest bike
that will work and leave nothing on it. Bike thieves steal anything and vandalize the rest.

Doug For email, a sense of wonder.

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Dan Daniel [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

It's $50/yr for the secure parking, which I find to be a reasonable and comparable price after
looking at a survey for bike locker rental fees in different places that I found on some
website that I can't remember now.

I'm curious- do auto parkers at your company have to pay for their parking spaces, rent them on a
yearly basis? Or does the company pick up this cost?

No company "picks up the cost" for any employee benefit. Those benefits are part of the employee's
compensation. If the OP's employer rents parking spaces for their employees to use but one of
their employees elects not to use their space, that employee doesn't receive a pay increase do
they? My health insurance through my employer automatically covers my spouse but if I were single
my paycheck wouldn't be one penny larger (although I *would* have more disposable income <g>😉
despite the lower cost to my employer. Sorry Dan... there's nitpicking and then there's outrageous
nitpicking. Your implied criticism falls in the second category. Of course, if you weren't
implying that it's unfair to charge employees for bike lockers while not directly charging them
for a parking place then I'll retract my reply.

Keep in mind that lockers are a lot more secure for bikes than an open parking lot is to cars, and
therefore aren't really equivalent. Bike racks would be a better comparison to a parking lot.

--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

(Hunrobe) said:

Quoted message said:

Dan Daniel [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

It's $50/yr for the secure parking, which I find to be a reasonable and comparable price after
looking at a survey for bike locker rental fees in different places that I found on some
website that I can't remember now.

I'm curious- do auto parkers at your company have to pay for their parking spaces, rent them on a
yearly basis? Or does the company pick up this cost?

No company "picks up the cost" for any employee benefit. Those benefits are part of the employee's
compensation. If the OP's employer rents parking spaces for their employees to use but one of their
employees elects not to use their space, that employee doesn't receive a pay increase do they? My
health insurance through my employer automatically covers my spouse but if I were single my
paycheck wouldn't be one penny larger (although I *would* have more disposable income <g>😉 despite
the lower cost to my employer. Sorry Dan... there's nitpicking and then there's outrageous
nitpicking. Your implied criticism falls in the second category. Of course, if you weren't implying
that it's unfair to charge employees for bike lockers while not directly charging them for a
parking place then I'll retract my reply.

Regards, Bob Hunt

Sorry, Bob... to make clear how much concern I have over you retracting your reply, pay close
attention to how much effort I put into explaining my post to you.

In article <q5_Jb.139686$INs.82548 @twister01.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

"David Kerber" <ns_dkerber@ns_ids.net> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

mbarbee_no_spam_

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

in an underground garage and that they will be moving those

lockers to one

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

garage at our new office location and also building a bike

room in another

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

of the new above ground garages. So I'm considering using the

secure

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

parking, although free use of outside racks will still be

availabe at the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

new building also. It's $50/yr for the secure parking, which

I find to be a

Quoted message said:

That is *very* cool that you have choices for bike parking!

Wish I had choice. If you ride a beater and remove everything valuable and have a $50 lock then
you can use the free outside rack. The more secure, the better, more enjoyable bike you can ride
and the more you can leave on the bike for a faster getaway on those nights where the temperature
fell way low and the wind sprang way up. That's worth $50 per year on its own. Same for not having
to carry a 2 pound lock.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

reasonable and comparable price after looking at a survey for

bike locker

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

rental fees in different places that I found on some website

that I can't

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

remember now. So a couple of questions for anyone who has

used secure

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

parking or bike lockers.

First, do lockers make it okay to leave your light system on

your bike? In

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the past I've taken the light in and left the battery or taken

the battery

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

in and left the light. But when leaving the battery out

during some of the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

coldest winter days, I believe that may have been bad for the

condition of

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the battery or the contacts, so I've taken to always bringing

the battery

Quoted message said:

The battery getting cold will reduce its usable capacity while

cold but

Quoted message said:

should not do any permanent damage; it should be back to normal

when it

Quoted message said:

warms up. Taking it in will help lengthen your charge cycle on

the way

Quoted message said:

home.

Could cold cause increased crystalization in some battery types?

I've never heard of such a thing, but then that's not my area of expertise and I'm not a chemist.

--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

David Kerber <ns_dkerber@ns_ids.net> wrote:
: Keep in mind that lockers are a lot more secure for bikes than an open parking lot is to cars, and
: therefore aren't really equivalent. Bike racks would be a better comparison to a parking lot.

perhaps but i'd feel a lot more comfortable parking a $30,000 car (not that i have one, mind you) in
a parking lot than i would a $3,000 bike in a bike rack. can't imagine many people feel differently.
--
david reuteler [email hidden]

M. Barbee said:

"Dan Daniel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

M. Barbee said:

It's $50/yr for the secure parking, which I find to be a reasonable and comparable price after
looking at a survey for bike locker rental fees in different places that I found on some
website that I can't remember now.

I'm curious- do auto parkers at your company have to pay for their parking spaces, rent them on a
yearly basis? Or does the company pick up this cost?

Auto drivers have to pay 100/mo. reserved or $10 a day for daily unreserved parking as available. I
can understand that question. It would be nice to make secure bike parking available on a monthly
basis since most people don't bike year round. But I think the present options are fair.

Yes, $50/year seems very fair. And the auto system is pretty typical. Sounds like an office building
in an urban environment. And sounds like you work for a company that has been willing to deal with
commuting alternatives. Your question and the responses have been helpful to me. I might be
confronting this kind of problem in a possible new job in the next few months.

David Reuteler said:

David Kerber <ns_dkerber@ns_ids.net> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Keep in mind that lockers are a lot more secure for bikes than an open parking lot is to cars,
and therefore aren't really equivalent. Bike racks would be a better comparison to a parking lot.

perhaps but i'd feel a lot more comfortable parking a $30,000 car (not that i have one, mind you)
in a parking lot than i would a $3,000 bike in a bike rack. can't imagine many people feel
differently.

This is true. A $500 side mirror plucked off a Mercedes is a lot less useful to a thief than a $100
saddle plucked off a bicycle.

Matt O.

People said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The battery getting cold will reduce its usable capacity while cold but should not do any
permanent damage; it should be back to normal when it warms up. Taking it in will help lengthen
your charge cycle on the way home.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Could cold cause increased crystalization in some battery types?

Quoted message said:

I've never heard of such a thing, but then that's not my area of expertise and I'm not a chemist.

I'm not a chemist either, but I edit and rewrite their stuff for battery manufacturers. No, cold
will not hurt your batteries, unless you try to fast-charge them while they are cold.

Matt O.

Doug Purdy said:

Could cold cause increased crystalization in some battery types?

I'm also no chemist. However I do know that an empty or near empty lead acid battery will be damaged
if left out in the cold. As long as it's not empty it will do perfectly OK. How this would apply to
other chemistry like NiCd or NiMH I don't know but my guess would be that they would fare similarly.
Another guess is that if you have enough battery to get you back home then you have enough charge in
your battery so as to keep it from becoming damaged by the cold.

--
Perre

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