Bicycle Network Victoria: Commercial Projects
Oxfam Australia - Carlton, Victoria
Environmental sustainability is part of Oxfam's vision, so encouraging staff to ride to their new headquaters seemed logical.
Oxfam on the move
Oxfam is Australia's leading agency working with communities around the world for solutions to poverty and social injustice. Bike riding is an obvious fit with environmental sustainability - a core plank of their vision.
When it came time to move to their new building in the inner Melbourne suburb of Carlton, providing bike parking and end-of-trip facilities for their staff was a primary requirement. They engaged Bicycle Network Victoria to assist them.
The use of the building was not changing so the re-fit did not have to comply with the Victorian Planning Provisions for bike parking.
The planning regulations
| Req'd for this building | Req'd if a new building* | Oxfam provided | |
| Employee bike parking spaces | 0 | 8 | 43 |
| Showers | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Lockers | 0 | 0 | 48 |
The Brief
Oxfam already had a strong cycling culture amongst staff so they wanted to maximise the number of bike parking spaces they could fit in to the designated space. This was achieved using a combination of Ned Kelly bike parking rails (vertical wall mount) and Bicycle Network Victoria's custom framing.
Alternative layouts
Bicycle Network Victoria worked with the project architect on layout alternatives. We met with the architect on site, and prepared detailed installation drawings of the layout that Oxfam chose (PDF 51K).
Our normal practice is to offer the client alternative layouts. For example, all bikes hanging from the wall, compared to some bikes using ground mounted leaning rails. These options reflect the trade off between ease of use and number of bikes parked.
Due to the space constraints and the large number of staff wanting to ride, Oxfam chose the high capacity alternative. The consequence of this decision will be more happy riders comfortable lifting their bike, but some less happy riders who prefer not to.
Supply and install
Bicycle Network Victoria was engaged to supply and install the bike parking facility. This happened over a three day period in May 2007 to fit in with Oxfam's timeline. Oxfam were delighted with the efficiency of the installation. We achieve this by using our own sub-contractor who has significant experience at installing our range of bike parking products to our layout specifications.
The staff were able to move into their new office and enjoy top quality bike parking.