Quote Originally Posted by shootingstar View Post
I would be totally impressed if in any Canadian university campus had large, secured bike storage areas for students. (Not faculty who might have the luxury of hiding bike in office..).
Wouldn't mass - even "secured" - storage defeat its own purpose? For example there are very big bike cages at the UBC Hospital, but one is known to be unsafe because who-knows-who who has a key seems to have friends in the wrong business.

At UBC currently I don't think there are poor students driving to campus. It's way too expensive to park. And now every student has a UPass (very cheap transit) which has increased the ridership on the buses that lead to campus to very high level. There are a few individual bike lockers that one can rent, and many buildings have arranged indoor parking somewhere for grad students and staff. It's hard to sneak bikes in offices in big buildings, the firefighters are quite strict about that.

On the outdoor racks, bikes that are not properly secured will be lifted almost instantly. Lots of students - especially those who live on campus and don't depend on their bike for transportation - are quite careless, locking only their front wheel for example. There are plenty of those bikes to steal.

Still, parking at high-traffic bike racks makes me nervous. I try to leave my bike in less busy areas.