How a towel and good lighting will help bring Brisbane workers back to the CBD

1 week ago 11

Forget the escaped car parking spot – a bully ablution and hairsbreadth straighteners are the bureau perks Brisbane needs to slash postulation congestion portion bringing work-from-home employees backmost to the CBD.

Anyone who has tried to walk, scoot oregon thrust to an bureau job, particularly successful Brisbane’s stifling summer, knows it’s little than perfect to get astatine your table dripping with sweat.

The end-of-trip facilities astatine 400 George Street alteration commuters to store their motorcycle safely and retired of the weather.

And not having bully end-of-trip facilities tin disproportionately impact women, fixed unwritten expectations connected them to deterioration make-up and heels to work.

If determination is obscurity to shower, alteration retired of activewear, use make-up and hole your hairsbreadth – particularly without archetypal having to walk, dishevelled, past your colleagues – an progressive commute starts to look beauteous unappealing. Not to notation the request for safe, adust facilities successful which to store your bike.

University of Queensland researchers analysed much than 200 cardinal bike-sharing trips successful 10 cities worldwide – including Brisbane – implicit 14 years and recovered atrocious weather, hills and the acheronian made women debar cycling adjacent much than men.

For example, successful New York, an other 1 millimetre of rainfall an hr reduced the fig of antheral riders by 35 per cent and females by 39 per cent.

“It would beryllium a modal displacement distant from the motorcycle – or, successful immoderate cases, the e-scooter – to different modes similar the autobus oregon car,” UQ probe chap Dr Richard Bean said.

One mentation the researchers considered was whether women whitethorn debar cycling to enactment successful rainy, acold oregon humid conditions if their workplace expected them to deterioration skirts, heels and make-up, and particularly wherever end-of-ride facilities, specified arsenic showers, were missing.

In bully news, the Queensland Development Code, published successful 2020, requires end-of-trip facilities to beryllium installed successful each caller large developments with a level country greater than 2000 quadrate metres – including commercialized bureau buildings – successful respective assembly areas, including Brisbane.

But immoderate bureau buildings successful the CBD are going the other mile.

There are much than 500 lockers, 200 unafraid bike-parking spaces, e-bike charging ports, 26 showers with Caroma astute bid fixtures, and a afloat bath for the disabled astatine 400 George Street.

In August 2021, Cromwell’s 400 George Street transformed a abstraction with precocious ceilings into a blase and luxurious end-of-trip facility.

“Refresh astatine 400”, designed by Brisbane architectural steadfast nettletontribe, features lukewarm timbers, dense greenery, and a hotel-like lounge space.

Built-in leather seating nooks and ottomans are scattered passim to make a consciousness of luxury, with entree to earthy light.

It features hundreds of lockers, unafraid motorcycle parking spaces, e-bike charging ports, showers, ironing stations, ghd straighteners, Dyson hairsbreadth dryers, mechanically exhausted airing cupboards, diagnostic vanity basins, touchless-entry doors with entree control, and a greenish vegetation wall.

Heritage Lanes astatine 80 Ann Street is different illustration with an awesome offering for tenants, including 665 motorcycle racks, 1302 lockers, six showers and abstraction for 10 e-scooters, portion nationalist servants astatine 1 William Street tin entree 600 motorcycle racks, repair kits, unafraid lockers, showers, a drying country and irons.

Bosses incapable to supply end-of-trip facilities successful their ain gathering could see subsidising rank fees for services similar Cycle2City, an underground abstraction adjacent King George Square that features unafraid motorcycle parking, showers, towels, lockers, irons, and an on-site mechanic.

In Australia, lone 1 successful 4 cycling commuters are women.

More women connected bikes oregon walking would trim the fig of cars connected our traffic-clogged streets, portion besides improving their wellness and redeeming money.

E-bikes and electrical cargo bikes are portion of the solution arsenic they marque it easier to commute longer distances faster – including hills – without getting blistery and sweaty.

Australian information shows women already cognize this, arsenic females are astir doubly arsenic apt to commute connected an e-bike arsenic men.

Tasmania and Adelaide connection rebates for radical who bargain an e-bike, and while Queensland is yet to follow, employers could put novated leases for e-bikes.

In the Netherlands, employers wage cyclists a tax-free mileage allowance up to €0.19 a kilometre – the aforesaid complaint disposable to unit who question to enactment by car.

Great facilities astatine enactment are a juicy sweetener for employees who would different prefer to enactment from home.

Access to showers, unafraid motorcycle racks and bully alteration rooms are, of course, not the lone barriers for radical who would similar to ride.

More harmless and separated paths away from engaged traffic would beryllium different bully spot to start.