The city authorities will make life easier for cyclists and will equip special parking spaces with a time limit in the city center. To ensure the safety of the parking lot, they plan to equip it with video cameras, officials say. Experts approve of the initiative and note that it will contribute to the passion of Muscovites for cycling.

In 2013, several thousand bicycle parking spaces will appear in Moscow. Alexey Mityaev, advisor to the head of the capital’s department of transport and road infrastructure development, told Kommersant FM about this. Short-term bicycle parking will be organized in the city center, in particular near the Kremlin and on Tverskaya Street. They will be free, but with a time limit. Other counties will have parking lots where bikes can be left for the day. It is possible that you will have to pay a small amount for their use, said Aleksey Mityaev, adviser to the head of the capital’s transport department.

“If we talk about long-term parking, then now there is a discussion about their appearance, maybe it will be a box or a rack with a roof to protect from rain or snow, maybe it will be a guarded parking lot. Most likely, if possible, with a video camera.

As for the storage time, it will be unlimited and free. The only thing is that if this is an option with boxes, then most likely you will have to use some kind of card that will make it possible to use this park. This is still under discussion. I think by the end of next week we will have a clear understanding of what they will look like and where they will stand,” he says.

It is not yet known how much bike parking will cost the city. The cost of such parking depends on a number of parameters, said Valery Oskin, commercial director of Stolz Grupp.

“Prices vary from 2 thousand rubles to 120 thousand rubles. Accordingly, for 2 thousand this is a bicycle rack of a unique type, for 120 it is a bicycle rack made of stainless metal, that is, more presentable, the level of quality and aesthetics is much higher. The cost of the structures only, fastenings are not included, due to the fact that parking places can be different, here installers select fasteners based on the mounting location,” he says.

President of the Bicycle Transport Union Igor Nalimov believes that the demand for bicycle parking will be small, especially in the city center.

“There is nowhere to ride, there are no bike paths, especially in the center. You can only ride on sidewalks. The sidewalks are narrow. Demand will be small. The importance of parking is that they attract the attention of residents, and residents see that they will take care of cyclists: “Let me I’ll take a ride to the park, and then to work, and then to the store, somewhere else.” So parking is needed,” he says.

It is possible that next year cyclists will be allowed access to Red Square. The Metropolitan Department of Transport is now working on this issue.

Olga Grosheva

Moscow will get bicycle parking