Bicycle pods in Somerville

One of the barriers to bicycle uptake in Somerville is secure storage, particularly for renters. Many renters don’t want to leave their bikes outside, exposed to the elements and at risk of theft. Likewise, they don’t want to lug their bikes up and down multiple flights of stairs and store their bikes in tiny third-floor apartments.

In some cities, there are lockable bicycle pods for rent, like Delft in the Netherlands.

So it is rainy in Delft, Netherlands. Look what they have. Must be a city that looks out for cyclists. pic.twitter.com/og3Q6gCf3i

— Kyle Minogue ?? (@kyle_minogue) May 1, 2018

That’s one of the projects the renters committee is looking into for the Somerville Commission on Energy Use and Climate Change. Today, I reached out to a friend and former Somerville resident who lives in Delft, to see if she knows more details on the program there.