Bike valet to operate in Riverside Park during Memorial Cup

Photo: Kristen Holliday

A bike valet set up in the Stuart Wood schoolhouse grounds at the Kamloops Regional Farmers' Market. The service will be available for cyclists hoping to secure their bikes before attending Memorial Cup events over the next week.

Hockey fans hoping to cruise past traffic on their bicycles on their way to Memorial Cup events will have the option to secure their bikes with the Kamloops Bike Valet.

After a successful pilot last summer, the bike valet began operating at the Kamloops Regional Farmers’ Market this year, thanks to a partnership with Youth Climate Corps BC and funding from BC Hydro and New Gold’s New Afton Mine.

Stacey Gagnon, cycling initiatives coordinator for the City of Kamloops, told Castanet Kamloops over the next week, the initiative will be used to help out those who wish to attend Memorial Cup events and avoid the hassle of parking and traffic congestion.

“We are offering a bike valet down at Riverside Park for people that maybe want to take in the festivities, like the entertainment zone and the fun zone,” Gagnon said.

The bike valet will be set up at Cunliffe House, which is near the northwest corner of the roundabout connecting Lorne Street, Third Avenue and Riverside Park East.

It will be operated from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. on weekdays from May 26 until June 2. On Saturday, May 27 and Sunday, May 28, the bike valet will be open from 12 p.m. until 7 p.m.

Gagnon said the Youth Climate Corps BC will run the bike valet.

In a news release, the City of Kamloops said the Kamloops Bike Valet is comprised of a kit which includes portable bike racks, tents and other supplies that event organizers can borrow to offer complimentary and secure bicycle parking.

Bikes are tagged, and owners receive a claim stub that they will have to produce in order to retrieve their bike when they wish to leave the event.

The city said the initiative was piloted by the Kamloops Cycling Coalition in 2022. Bike valets were provided at events like Ribfest, BrewLoops and Canada Day.

The valet is run at the Stuart Wood schoolhouse each Saturday by the Youth Climate Corps BC, giving farmers market attendees the ability to secure their bike while they shop.

In a statement, Deb Alore, Kamloops Cycling Coalition board member, said the initiative goes beyond providing a secure place to park bicycles.

“A spin-off of a people-led solution to enhancing bike security is the community conversations it creates about cycling in Kamloops, hopefully fostering a commuter cycling culture that builds upon our love for recreational biking,” Alore said.