New facility offers secure indoor bicycle parking

By now, many of you working or visiting Downtown have noticed the giant bicycle painted on a bright-green backdrop on the side of the Century Building with two matching shipping containers at the street level below, and wondered what in the world it could be.

As you know, one of the biggest issues with biking to work is the lack of protected bike parking. That very issue is being addressed with those two shipping containers. Now, for $100 a year 26 commuters can lock their bikes up securely inside those containers and not worry about their bikes being stolen, or items being pilfered from them.

This “Bicycle Commuter Center” is the brainchild of Bill Gatti from TREK Development Group, the company that developed the Century Building in partnership with neighborhood stakeholders to try to attract young people of various incomes to live Downtown. When asked about the inspiration behind this project, Mr. Gatti gave us the following statement:

The vitality of downtown is contingent upon the creation of 24-hour residential traffic.  Critical mass will only be attained through development of living options for a variety of income levels and life-styles.  Trek Development Group recognized a need for moderately priced rental housing and worked with the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership and the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust to make the Century Building a realty.  The Bicycle Commuter Center was a natural extension of our goals to create an environmentally healthy and sustainable community.

Bike Pittsburgh is excited about how this bike parking center could help Downtown employers become more bike friendly. Many employers have had trouble finding a way to work with building owners and managers to allow their employees to bring their bikes inside. Now an employer could simply pay for, or at least partially subsidize secure parking spaces for their employees.  These types of expenses can also potentially be reimbursed through the new Federal Bicycle Commuter Tax Credit.

If this project is successful, it will surely help inspire other local developers to integrate bike-friendly facilities into their designs.

The funding for this project was provided partially by TREK Development Group which contributed both monetary and in-kind support, and partially funded with federal Transit Enhancement funds through Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission.

Bike Center Leasing Details

The Century Building is located at 130 7th St, between Penn Ave and Fort Duquesne Blvd – a stone’s throw from the Andy Warhol Bridge and PNC Park.

Indoor secure parking is available by calling the management office. (412) 688.7200.  The cost will be $100/year (payable in 2 $50 installments) plus a $10 deposit for their key fob.  Leases will run April 1 to March 31.  There are 21 FREE wall-racks and Bike Pittsburgh Three Rivers Racks outside to accommodate short term cultural district parking.

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Not a member of Bike Pittsburgh? Join today! We need you to add your voice! Bike Pittsburgh works to protect cyclist’s rights and promote the vision of making Pittsburgh a safer and more enjoyable place to live and to ride. For more info, check out: www.bike-pgh.org/membership