Design Responses > About Parking Facilities > Case Studies >
Public Realm
B:sm Avendia Gaudí – Castillenjos
(ES)

Off-street cycle parking facility integrated into a B:SM car park venue. B:SM are a semi-public organisation, principally run to provide car parking in collaboration with Barcelona City Council.
At this site, there are 28 spaces for bicycles of which two -thirds were being used when we visited.

At the moment, the company does not wish to dedicate more space to bicycles, because a car parking space is more profitable since there is a higher turnover for cars. The company does not currently perceive so much demand for cycle parking facilities (2007-8). They identify that in part people who want to cycle around this area of Barcelona now have the Bicing public bicycle service at their disposal.

Some of the people who park their bicycles there do not use them. It appears that the majority of the bicycles are not used daily.

Another company called SABA offers free space for their clients to park bicycles (clients who regularly use the facility to park their car or motorcycle). It seems appropriate to Barcelona city council to conduct a study to determine how many B:SM clients have both a car or motorcycle and a bicycle parked there.

There is an online map of all garages in Barcelona. According to B:SM there are cycle parking facilities in every garage. €1.20 per hour and €13.19 per month once registered and €10.56 with the Carnet Jove (Young Person’s Card). To register, the cost is €11. A card is given with a support number and the type of bicycle. This card cannot be used to raise the barrier. Cyclists must either go around it or below the barrier.

Provider
B:SM car parks
(independently run, but set up by the City Council of Barcelona)

Designer / Architect
B:SM car parks (in-house)

Cost of provision
Information not available

Strengths
• Weather protection
• Guard surveillance
• Good cycle parking facility if it is close to the place of residence

Weaknesses
• Expensive for a bicycle (but not compared to a car)

Useful References
www.bsmsa.es