'Bike boxes' installed on Cork streets

Units have been installed on St Patrick's Street and Grand Parade and it is understood they will be made available to businesses which are involved in an ongoing cargo bike trial project in the city

One of the new bike boxes which has been installed on St Patrick's Street, Cork.

Large bike storage units have been installed on two of Cork's main streets as part of a cargo bike pilot project.

Cork City Council has installed two of the three ‘bike boxes’ it plans to install at locations on St Patrick’s Street and on Grand Parade.

The exact location for the third bike box has yet to be announced.

The units, which are made by Euroforce Engineering based in Passage West, Cork, are large bike storage units used for secure and covered on-street bike parking.

It is understood they will be made available to businesses which are involved in an ongoing cargo bike trial project in the city.

But it is not clear yet if the devices will be made available to other bike users, despite ongoing efforts to secure indoor bike parking in a city centre location.

The devices were installed at the two high-profile city centre locations earlier this week, sparking a lot of online commentary about how they will be used.

A bike box at Euroforce Engineering in Passage West, where they are built.

Euroforce said queries should be directed to the city council.

But the city council was not in a position on Friday to release the details of the devices, how much they cost, how they will work, or when they will be made available to bike users. 

It is understood those details will be confirmed early next week.

However, the Irish Examiner understands the bike boxes are linked to the launch last year of a cargo bike pilot project in the city.

In mid 2021, the city council was awarded funding to establish ‘a library’ of cargo bikes that could be loaned to city businesses and community groups on a six-month trial basis before they decided if it was worth investing in the bikes themselves.

The funding allowed the council to buy a fleet of bikes, which became available in late 2021 and early 2022.

The scheme is designed to encourage active travel, especially in the retail and business sector, but also to increase the use of cargo bikes in the wider private sector and public sector.

The council’s sustainable travel awareness officer, Frank Fitzgerald, said at the time that across Europe, it is estimated that 50% of all motorised trips that involve the transport of goods in cities could be shifted to cargo bikes and bicycles.

“The diversity of cargo bikes is astonishing. Cargo bikes take many different shapes and forms. Besides the cyclist, they can carry goods and people of up to 250kg and can even be coupled with a trailer for extra capacity,” he said.

It was one of 20 projects to receive funding from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform’s Public Service Innovation Fund.