Building a Low-Cost Bike Rack at St Paul’s Church, Kāpiti Anglican Parish

Story contributed by Irene Parminter, Kāpiti Anglican Parish.

As an Eco Church, we have been keen to encourage bike riding to church as an alternative to cars using fossil fuels, but until recently, have had nowhere for people to safely secure their bikes. During the week, a number of people bike to St Paul’s for children’s playgroup, the Fruit and Vege Co-op, and other meetings. And as some parishioners said “When you go for a bike ride to a destination, the first thing you look for is somewhere to chain your bike safely.”

Back in March 2023, we asked a local biking expert for some advice, and he provided a very useful checklist. On further investigation we found that the cheapest option for a purchased metal bike rack of suitable quality, able to withstand the salt-laden air, and able to take wide e-bike tyres, cost a lot more than our eco-church budget would allow. So, we put the idea on the back burner. In the meantime, we collected photos of various kinds of bike racks, including one made from wood at Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush.

This year, the project finally came to fruition, as two parishioners, Julian and Glenis, agreed to build and erect a bike rack based on the Ōtari-Wilton’s model. Two suitable ground-treated posts were found on the church grounds, and 2 pieces of treated timber were purchased to form the cross bars of the rack. The whole exercise took an afternoon, including drilling the holes for the cross bars, digging the holes and concreting in the posts, at a total cost of $70 for the timber and bolts. The bike rack is now in use!

The photos below show the construction in progress, and the finished product.