Kelowna catching up to Kamloops, Penticton with bicycle valet service

Penticton has been offering a bike valet service at its farmers' market since 2018. The Kamloops Cycling Coalition started offering the service at various events last year.

Kelowna is getting into the act with a two-month pilot project starting tomorrow, July 1. The service will be free and run from noon to 6 p.m. on weekends through to Sept. 3 at the intersection of Bernard Avenue and Mill Street.

“We developed the bike valet with RCMP data in mind,” community safety advisor Broc Tracey said in a City of Kelowna news release.

“Between 500 and 700 bikes have been reported stolen each year in Kelowna since 2019 and we see an increase in those reports downtown over the weekends. We hope the valet can reduce bike theft numbers and ultimately make people more comfortable coming downtown with their bikes.”

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The city is providing the equipment and the Kelowna Area Cycling Coalition will deliver the valet service.

“The City of Kelowna has done well in removing barriers for multimodal road users, including cyclists, over the last number of years,” coalition vice-president Davis Kyle said in the news release. “Of course, some barriers still remain. Bike theft is an important one and I’m pleased that we’re working with the city on the bike valet to help remove that barrier. In the summer tourist season, it's a great way to get around, dodge traffic, and experience all of what downtown has to offer.”

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The program will be evaluated on things like usage, rider feedback and impact on bike theft statistics to decide whether it will continue beyond the summer.

The Penticton and Area Cycling Association said in a media release that its usage grew by 45% from 318 bikes through the first six Saturdays of 2022 to 461 bikes for the same time period this year.

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