Hradec Králové wants to build more bike parking towers

Hradec Králové - Hradec Králové plans to build two bicycle parking towers by 2016. They are to be located on the premises of the university hospital and at the University of Hradec Králové. The estimated costs are about 16 million crowns, of which the Hradec Králové Region has promised to contribute two million. The city's councilors today recommended the submission of a competition for the construction of the bike houses, and the final decision will be made by the city councilors, said city hall spokesperson Magdaléna Vlčková to ČTK.
    In Hradec Králové, a bicycle parking house, which is probably the first similar facility in the Czech Republic and Europe, has been operating since February 2013. It is located at Riegrové Square near the main railway station and has a capacity of 116 bicycles. It was created as an investment by Hradec Králové entrepreneur Rudolf Bernart.
    "The facility will serve cyclists for the safe storage of bicycles with standard equipment, such as bike bags, lighting, mirrors, or child seats. Each parking house should accommodate around 100 bicycles," stated the city’s deputy mayor for urban development Jindřich Vedlich (TOP 09) regarding the plans for two bike houses. According to him, the city will still decide on the specific conditions of operation.
    Bernart's bicycle parking house takes the form of an octagonal tube made of glass and steel. The house operates without staff, and bicycles are automatically transported to available spaces by an elevator. Its construction cost 7.5 million crowns. Storing a bicycle in it costs five crowns per day, and in its first year of operation, 11,500 cyclists used its services.
    The Hradec Králové bike house has also inspired the city hall in Přerov, which wants to build a bike house near the main railway station. The Přerov authorities expect that the facility, costing more than eight million crowns, should accommodate up to 120 bicycles, for which cyclists will pay five crowns per day for storage.