We recently came across a bike valet at the local farmers market. An organization named Better Environmentally Sound Transportation (BEST) (which was started by cyclists in 1991) recently launched a volunteer-run service called The Bicycle Valet in Vancouver. It offers a free and safe bike checking service for special events, including farmers markets, sporting events, and concerts. Are bike valets popping in other cities as well?
The Bicycle Valet works similarly to a coat-check with patrons receiving a ticket when they check their bike and submitting the ticket to pick up their bike later. Event organizers are able to hire The Bicycle Valet who set-up, staff, and take down the Valet during an event. They offer security to riders, marketing to event organizers and subsidized rates to non-profit or low-budget community events.
The Valet we saw last weekend was quite full and well-used. In a city where bike theft is an epidemic, it was awesome to see an organization that offers this service and whose only motive is to encourage people to ride their bikes.
For more information check out their website: thebicyclevalet.ca.
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Here in Salt Lake City, Pioneer Park (which hosts our farmer's market, and this year has had many free concerts and films as well) has had a bike valet for at least the last two years.
Chicago's Wrigley Field has a free bike valet for games, and you can leave your helmet, too!
Here in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan a couple of wonderful NGOs, We are Many and Roadmap Saskatoon, have been offering the service at festivals and the farmers' market. I've used it and can't say enough good things about it.
I live in Indianapolis and the only bike valet that I have seen is for the Broad Ripple Art Fair each summer. I'd love to see more as Indianapolis is becoming a more bike-friendly city.
I'm a volunteer bike valet with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and it's so much fun! Tons of info here: http://www.sfbike.org/?valet
I live in Long Beach, CA and we also have a local volunteer run bike valet service that comes out to almost all local events, concerts, and farmers markets.
The Washington Area Bicyclist Association does bike valet service at a lot of events in DC!
very cool.
I'm in Salt Lake and have noticed that the bike valet at the Pioneer Park farmer's market leans bikes on one another. I don't want my bike damaged, so I don't use it.
I just volunteered this weekend for a local festival in which we did the bike parking. Really nice way to encourage cycling and avoid all the crazy parking to something like that. Bike Ypsi (our local biking coalition) does quite a few events like this as well as weekly bike rides and twice a year has a bike festival pretty much where there are several rides, free bike tune-ups and helmets, local vendors and such. Really nice.
I saw a bike valet at both the Hester Street Market and the Amsterdam market in New York city. Naturally! :)
I live in Cali, Colombia, which is a very eco-friendly city. Over 20% of the population bikes everywhere (school, work, leisure) so bike valets are quite common. Every mall has special parking space alloted for bikes (which is free, by the way). And spaces are set up for outdoor programs and activities.