Anyone riding their bike to the National‘s show at Barclays Center June 5 won’t have to worry about finding a place to lock it up. For the first time since opening, the arena, with the help of Transportation Alternatives, will be offering a bicycle valet service, free of charge. All attendees have to do is show up and hand over their bikes, locks, and helmets; Transportation Alternatives’ workers and volunteers will do the rest, locking bikes up at existing racks. After the show, just hand over the ticket you were given, and your ride will be returned to you.
As the Brooklyn Paper points out, it isn’t the first time Transportation Alternatives has offered the service, but the fact that such a major venue as the Barclays Center signed on is significant. The National show is a kind of pilot program, to gauge how useful valet parking is to the city’s cyclists.
“There’s a really diverse bunch of events that are attracting bike riders these days,” said TransAlt spokesman Michael Murphy. “It’s really blown up.”
“It points to the increasing mainstreaming of bicycling as transportation all over the city,” he added.
