One of the ‘Key Issues’ for the Horsham District, listed in the newly-published West Sussex County Council Transport Plan 2011-26, is that
There is a lack of secure public cycle parking through the District, particularly in Horsham
[page 60]
And nowhere is this more true than right outside Horsham District Council’s offices, centrally located in the town, where if you wish to arrive by bicycle, you will have to improvise and find some way to lock your bicycle to the hand rails, because – naturally enough – there are no cycle stands here.
If, on the other hand, you are arriving by car, you will find yourself treated to free parking. Sorry, FREE PARKING.
Plenty of spaces here –
And more free car parking spaces behind the building –
But, naturally, no cycle stands, anywhere.
To repeat – the Park North office is in the middle of the town. It is easily accessible by bike. A council that was serious about ‘Sustainable Travel’ would be putting in cycle stands, and not offering dozens of free car parking spaces.
Why don’t Horsham District Council make a start on addressing one of the ‘Key Issues’ in the district, right here, on their own doorstep?
UPDATE 29/03/11
Upon further investigation, I have managed to find some cycle stands at Horsham District Council’s offices at Park North. However, it is not at all clear whether they are for public use.
At the rear of the building, if you proceed down the ramp to the private car park (ignoring the sign, and skirting around the barrier designed to stop people parking in the spaces reserved for council members) –
you will find these attractive stands, lurking in the far corner.
The signage suggests that this is private property, and even if these stands are accessible to the general public, they are far from convenient, or easy to find.
When I asked at the Council’s reception desk, no-one was aware of any cycle stands at the building.
As Easy As Riding A Bike 
Institutional bias against cyclists. Akin to racism.
I wouldn’t go that far – I can’t change the colour of my skin, but I can (unwillingly) change my mode of transport – but yes, this is institutional bias.
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Keep an eye on the space outside Park North over the next few weeks.
Your trusty correspondent in his guise as secretary to the local cycling forum has been at work 😉 WSCC have donated the Sheffield stands and HDC have agreed to put them in. They are also improving the provision at the Pavilions.
Where else in town do you think we need more cycle parking (I’ve noted the Police Station)
Thanks Greg – great news.
The stands that used to exist at the top of the Causeway, near the junction with Blackhorse Way, have been missing for some time now. They were ‘disappeared’, I’m not sure when. They were quite handy for people shopping on West Street (in fact one of my former bikes was vandalised there, but that’s another matter); now you see bikes chained up to the railings outside Lloyds bank, or tethered to street signs by Abbey. The demand still exists, and looks to be even greater. Would be good to have them back.
Cool. Will have a look. They may argue they’ve been replaced by the very odd looking stands at the end of East Street. In which case we will argue back, especially as WSCC will provide Sheffield Stands to HDC free of charge if HDC cover the cost of installing them.
Re HDC offices; 10 stands going in, 5 for public use, five for staff use, but available to the public if not in use by staff, as they attempt to get more people cycling to work. I’m told the public one’s go in this weekend. I think it is three outside Park North and another two over the road. Hope they put them in the right places as they declined the opportunity to consult with forum members. What do we know?