Advocacy & Safety - Kids riding to school - bike storage

How do schools typically store the kids' bikes when kids actually ride to school? I doubt a set of racks is going to be satisfactory, since kids being kids would be very tempted to vandalize other kids' bikes. Do they have bike lockers, or perhaps a storage room that's watched and then locked up afterwards during class?

My sons' school is installing bike corrals- bike racks inside a lockable chainlink fence. It is locked after the first bell and unlocked at the end of school. Kids still have the choice of locking their bikes inside.

A couple of schools have this in our area and seems like the common sense and low cost solution.

How do schools typically store the kids' bikes when kids actually ride to school? I doubt a set of racks is going to be satisfactory, since kids being kids would be very tempted to vandalize other kids' bikes. Do they have bike lockers, or perhaps a storage room that's watched and then locked up afterwards during class?

Probably half of them aren't even locked up. No known problems so far.

My sons' school is installing bike corrals- bike racks inside a lockable chainlink fence. It is locked after the first bell and unlocked at the end of school. Kids still have the choice of locking their bikes inside.

A couple of schools have this in our area and seems like the common sense and low cost solution.

We had one of these at my HS to park my dinosaur, um motorcycle. Don't remember anything about bicycles but they were either not invented yet or not cool. That was a long time ago.
The "cage" did seem to work well unless you wanted to cut class and leave early. :)

My $0.02

How do schools typically store the kids' bikes when kids actually ride to school? I doubt a set of racks is going to be satisfactory, since kids being kids would be very tempted to vandalize other kids' bikes. Do they have bike lockers, or perhaps a storage room that's watched and then locked up afterwards during class?

I think that most of the schools here have one or more bike racks in an enclosed space, and that possibly that that area is locked after the start of school then unlocked at the end of school. But I admit that I could be mistaken. But it does make sense to do it that way.

Probably half of them aren't even locked up. No known problems so far.

Damn, how many bikes are on those racks? They would be safer if there was a lockable coral around them.

My sons' school is installing bike corrals- bike racks inside a lockable chainlink fence. It is locked after the first bell and unlocked at the end of school. Kids still have the choice of locking their bikes inside.

A couple of schools have this in our area and seems like the common sense and low cost solution.
Yes, that's what the local schools here (San Ramon, Ca) have as well. Didn't keep my daughter's bike from getting both tires slashed within a couple weeks of buying it - but we didn't have any more problems after that.

Damn, how many bikes are on those racks? They would be safer if there was a lockable coral around them.
Probably about 50 or so on any day above 45° for a middle school (grades 5-8) with an enrollment of 350.
Safer from what, when there is no problem now?
A lockable corral would be a solution looking for a problem to fix here. Besides who is supposed to be the gatekeeper/keymaster of a lockable corral? Lots of logistic problems for no gain.

The most common thing here is one or two of the old ladder-style wheelbender racks. The elementary school where I went still has the same bike rack that they did when I was there in the 5th and 6th grades. And that's been awhile ago...

My kids school has an old style bike rack, but it gets full, so bikes are locked to poles, fences, fence posts, so forth.

My kids school has an old style bike rack, but it gets full, so bikes are locked to poles, fences, fence posts, so forth.

Wow I can only hope that the schools around here had so many kids riding

Back in elementary school, someone rolled up in a pickup truck and lifted the whole rack into it with like 10+ bikes on it. This, however, happened in a not-so-great-neighborhood in Chicago. I don't trust my bike anywhere now. Thanks Chicago! haha

A lockable corral would be a solution looking for a problem to fix here. Besides who is supposed to be the gatekeeper/keymaster of a lockable corral? Lots of logistic problems for no gain.

Most every school has someone either hired or a round-robin amongst the teachers for playground duty. I don't see the hassle.

You guys need to report those racks to the Saratoga Springs school district. (See another recent thread in this forum.) The elementary and high schools my sons attended had racks inside the fenced, limited-access schoolyard. The only time I have had any fear of bike theft was on university campuses.

Probably about 50 or so on any day above 45° for a middle school (grades 5-8) with an enrollment of 350.
Safer from what, when there is no problem now?
A lockable corral would be a solution looking for a problem to fix here. Besides who is supposed to be the gatekeeper/keymaster of a lockable corral? Lots of logistic problems for no gain.

That's a good number.

You're probably right there, uh whomever monitors the incoming students in the morning and likewise whomever monitors the students leaving at the end of the day.

uh whomever monitors the incoming students in the morning and likewise whomever monitors the students leaving at the end of the day.

And the gatekeeper keymaster presumably will be standing by at all times when children, arrive late, stay for after school activities, etc. It may be necessary where you live, but not here, thank goodness. Kids ride to and from school here without being locked up or under guard, just like I did 55 years ago in Philadelphia.

Probably about 50 or so on any day above 45° for a middle school (grades 5-8) with an enrollment of 350.
Safer from what, when there is no problem now?
A lockable corral would be a solution looking for a problem to fix here. Besides who is supposed to be the gatekeeper/keymaster of a lockable corral? Lots of logistic problems for no gain.
WOW! I was teaching at a middle school (grades 7-8) with over 1000 kids and on average there were 2 bikes on the rack!! A corral would cost money that the school would not be willing to spend even if kids were regularly riding. Even the rack is very much sub-par, consisting of a concrete strip about 30' long x 12" wide x 8" tall with tire width slots and steel rings embedded into it.

Most every school has someone either hired or a round-robin amongst the teachers for playground duty. I don't see the hassle.

Who will be watching the playground or anything else while the hired "playground duty" official is standing guard and checking the children and bicycles in and out of their locked cage?

Who will be watching the playground or anything else while the hired "playground duty" official is standing guard and checking the children and bicycles in and out of their locked cage?

No need to stand guard. The gate is unlocked in the morning and gets locked after first bell. Kids that get there late would need to lock elsewhere. Unlock in the afternoon . Locking to the racks inside the corral is up to the kid/parent. No need to nanny.

No need to stand guard. The gate is unlocked in the morning and gets locked after first bell. Kids that get there late would need to lock elsewhere. Unlock in the afternoon . Locking to the racks inside the corral is up to the kid/parent. No need to nanny.

I suppose that might help where vandalism or theft of locked bikes from school bike racks is a problem.

I'd be curious to see pictures of the number of bikes at grade schools that employ such corrals to encourage cycling.

Yes, that's what the local schools here (San Ramon, Ca) have as well. Didn't keep my daughter's bike from getting both tires slashed within a couple weeks of buying it - but we didn't have any more problems after that.

Was it a locked corral?

And the gatekeeper keymaster presumably will be standing by at all times when children, arrive late, stay for after school activities, etc. It may be necessary where you live, but not here, thank goodness. Kids ride to and from school here without being locked up or under guard, just like I did 55 years ago in Philadelphia.

In the morning there will always be stragglers. If there are organized after school activities there is a representative from the school on the grounds to make sure things run smoothly. S/he can sign the key out to unlock the corral, how difficult is that?

Who will be watching the playground or anything else while the hired "playground duty" official is standing guard and checking the children and bicycles in and out of their locked cage?

Uh, what reason would a kid have for getting his/her bike during school hours? If they have to go home because they're sick their parents are going to be called to pick them up. The principal or someone can at the time said parent arrives unlock the corral to allow the parent access to the bike.

The rest of the time the corral is locked, as the kids have no reason to get their bikes out.

No need to stand guard. The gate is unlocked in the morning and gets locked after first bell. Kids that get there late would need to lock elsewhere. Unlock in the afternoon . Locking to the racks inside the corral is up to the kid/parent. No need to nanny.

Exactly.

My kids school is k-5.
1. There is no car parking
2. There is no drop off lane
3. No buses
4. 400 students, on an average day 200-250 walk/bike, of that about 50-75 bike. It varies of course.
5. Very aggressive enforcement of the 15 mph speed limit.
6. Very aggressive crossing guards

But this is a fairly conservative area, so the people here tend to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. So this area is not typical.

Uh, what reason would a kid have for getting his/her bike during school hours? If they have to go home because they're sick their parents are going to be called to pick them up. The principal or someone can at the time said parent arrives unlock the corral to allow the parent access to the bike.

The rest of the time the corral is locked, as the kids have no reason to get their bikes out.

You and cman really seemed hyped on the locked corral idea whether it is needed or not. Are you or anyone else aware of a success story with such a facility at a grade school? Pictures such as mine or commentary like maddyfish's would do.

Pics are hard to come by this time of year. I am for anything that gets people and especially kids on bikes.

My recollection is that we had bike corrals. Same idea, get to school on time and your bike gets locked up and safe for the day. Come tardy, oops on you. I'm recalling high schools.

By the way, now I am a high school teacher. I'm at a brand new (yes, I'm very lucky) school that opened one year ago. There are NO bike racks at all. We did ask about it. The catch though is I am at an inner city school in Hollywood (no Hollywood is not all rich and white like many think). Not that many kids ride as we are strictly a neighborhood school which means most kids are within a mile or so. We do have a few kids in our Small Learning Community (school is sort of broken into 4 mini programs each with their own Assistant Principal and office) who ride their bikes and we've been nice enough to let them keep them in our office (that's how few ride), that is if they don't mind carrying their bike up four flights of stairs first :)) Fighting childhood obesity with 5 floors! LOL

A little off here but the kids who do ride have these nice(from what I can see) road bikes. I keep wondering if they're stolen but then I realized we have Bicycle Kitchen in the area and I think many kids have worked on and built their own.

Pics are hard to come by this time of year. I am for anything that gets people and especially kids on bikes.

I recommend that you make sure Helmet Nannys in your community or school system don't work their negative magic on kids riding bikes to school.

When I lived in Key West as a kid, most of us rode bikes or walked to school. I don't remember corrals at the elementry school, but in Jr. High we had bike racks inside a fenced area. Where my kids go to school now, I wouldn't even consider allowing them to ride a bike to school. The one in High School is to far and in a terrible neighborhood, and the elementry schooler would have to travel a rode that even I avoid. When I have had a reason to go on school grounds, I see very few bikes nowdays. Even the local College has very few.

>Yes, that's what the local schools here (San Ramon, Ca) have as well. Didn't keep my daughter's bike from >getting both tires slashed within a couple weeks of buying it - but we didn't have any more problems after >that.

Was it a locked corral?
Yes, I presume the slashing was done by one of the other kids trying out a pocket knife. I doubt that the locked fences serve much of a purpose here since I don't think there'd be a theft problem anyway. Quite a few bikes are in the racks at the local schools, but the numbers did drop noticeably when the state instituted a helmet law for juveniles.

In my high school, we had a bike rack inside the gym which was accessible from an outside door. The door wasn't locked and there was a camera to monitor the bike rack and the entrance. A kid who was caught by the camera stealing a bike got suspended, so no one ever messed with the bikes. During the warm months, the bike rack was regularly full so I had to sometimes lock my bike up outside.
Since I graduated, they renovated the gym and now the bike rack is outside.

At my school we have bike racks, but since I go to a huge school (~2400 students) there isn't one located conveniently for me and I just lock my bike along with five or six others to a hand rail by the entrance ramp for the music wing (my main haunt). No problems so far for me with theft of vandalism. One friend of mine did have her bike stolen once when she forgot to lock it but Big Brother was watching so they were able to review the tapes, call the thief in (a recently graduated Senior, no less) and get the bike back.

:lol: enclosed bike zones. If that were even on the school board agenda all the tea-partiers would show up screaming their heads off about wasteful spending. Our junior high has about 5 really long ladder-style racks (the main kind in my town) that get filled all the time, but once you go to the high school there is only one girl who rides.