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Dundee Rep and Cycling Scotland

Improving cycling facilities

Over spring 2019, Dundee Rep undertook a series of improvements to its cycling facilities, enabling staff and visitors to travel to the venue by low carbon means. Jaci Stewart, Green Champion for the Rep, tells us more about what they did.

Contents:

Introduction of the works

Dundee Rep and Scottish Dance Theatre has been working hard to increase its green credentials. The theatre is part of the Green Tourism Business Scheme and is currently rated ‘Gold’, but one of the areas we need to improve is our transport links.

Two bikes locked to an inverted-U style of outdoor cycle rack.

Before new cycle storage was installed at the theatre the five-bike rack was not secure or sheltered.

As we are a city centre venue, it is difficult to get parking for cars, so we want to encourage staff and visitors to cycle to our venue. However, our facilities for safe storage of bikes were not good for a number of reasons:

  • We had a five-bike rack without shelter from the elements. This meant that in the colder months staff brought their bikes into the building, causing a fire hazard and blocking routes and equipment.
  • The facility was not secure, which gave staff the concern that their bikes can be stolen.

Our aims

We wanted to give our visitors a secure sheltered storage area for bikes, but also allow our staff to cycle to work and the facilities to shower and change into working clothes and vice versa.

To achieve this, we identified a number of actions:

  • To encourage our visitors to cycle by adding the information to our website and social media pages.
  • To add directional signage to our building to allow visitors to find the shelter easily.
  • To re-utilise our old bike rack, re-situating it at the front of the theatre in a covered space.
  • To add a set of lockers to our public ground floor bathrooms so that cycling gear can be locked away during users’ time at the Rep.

Work proposed

The area under consideration was our courtyard, to the side of the building, which is accessible to all staff and visitors. The design was created to fit this space and to be covered by CCTV to add further security.

  • A gravel and concrete courtyard.

    The proposed courtyard space for the new cycle storage.

  • A empty two-tier secure cycle store.

    The two-tier bike storage now in place.

We installed a two-tier system for 20 bikes, which is bolted to the ground and fully enclosed to protect the bikes from all weather. The cycle shelter is made from a steel structure and poly-carbonate panels all round. To access the cycle shelter, we installed a cycle ramp to the steps from the upper level to allow for easier manual handling.

In addition, we have three areas available for cycling changing rooms, each with shower and locker facilities. We’ve made the areas more welcoming for cycle users and to encourage more people to cycle.

Changing area 1 – the back stairs

  • All changing rooms were repainted, with nice cycling transfers on the main wall.
  • New coin return lockers were purchased and installed.
  • New rails were added to allow outdoor clothes to be hung to dry if wet.
  • Each shower room was spruced up with new modesty doors, storage caddies and new shower curtain.

Changing area 2 – Scottish Dance Theatre changing rooms

As the majority of the dancers cycle to work anyway, we improved both the ladies and gents changing rooms with new paint, lockers and general tidy.

Changing area 3 – the ground floor changing area

This space was completely cleared to allow for a full paint refurbish, including a ‘wet wall’ within the shower room, re-grouted tiling and a new shower curtain. Retaining existing lockers and adding storage racks and rails enable storage and drying of clothes and towels.

  • A changing room showing doors to ladies and gents toilets.

    Changing and shower rooms were redecorated and fitted with more storage for clothing equipment.

  • Changing with doors for ladies toilet and a shower room.

    After the works were completed.

  • A partly painted grey brick wall.

    Changing and shower rooms were repainted to freshen up the spaces.

  • Newly painted concrete block.

    Refurbished spaces and enhanced decoration and hanging rails installed.

Funding from Cycling Scotland

At the time, national charity Cycling Scotland’s Cycle Friendly Employer Development Fund supported Dundee Rep and Scottish Dance Theatre to improve its buildings to encourage more staff to cycle to work.