Departmental Bike Service – Parking Examples

A number of MSU departments provide bike-related services and work bikes as well to their staff to encourage them to ride bikes more often for a host of reasons that are well known.  This blog article illustrates some of those bikes at work around campus.  The following are additional services & amenities that have been installed and/or purchased by departments.  Consider asking your department administration about providing something similar to improve the bike-friendliness of your department.  Our departmental fleet services are described on this page of our website.

Cyclotron Secure Bike Parking facility:

One of the newest department facilities on campus, this secured bike storage facility offers space for approx. 40 bikes under cover and behind fencing that is card-access controlled.  It also features a security camera to monitor access.  The Cyclotron has also had a traditional key-access bike locker on their premises for a number of years that’s been available to 2 bicyclists at any given time.  A video tour of the facility can be seen here.  Questions about this facility can be sent to Tim Potter.   The vendor’s turn-key bike shelters can be seen here.  Here are some photos of the facilities:

The Cyclotron’s secure bike parking facility.

Features upgraded racks to assure higher capacity parking and to keep the bikes upright better than other designs.

Cyclotron’s bike locker (being reviewed by a visitor)

Bio-Engineering Secure Bike Parking Facility:

One of the newest research buildings on campus, the four-story, 130,000-square-foot Bioengineering Facility, features a nice secure MSU ID card-accessible bike parking facility on the exterior for area staff to use.  While it doesn’t feature a roof over the parking this is certainly a much improved amenity for staff in the buildings in this area who are concerned about the security of their bikes while at work.   This facility will be opening soon.  It is located between the Life Science and the Clinical Center buildings in the South Academic District.  Questions about this facility can be sent to Tim Potter.  Here are some photos of it as of taken this past summer:

Infrastructure Planning and Facilities’ Bike Services:

Gus on one of his work bikes in the IPF parking lot.

Employees of this large department have had the use of a growing fleet of bikes for decades.  Oftentimes trips to buildings on campus to check into maintenance issues can be easily done by bicycle to minimize costs to the department and provide options for staff to get some exercise and fresh air during their work day.  On the nicer days of the year it’s not uncommon for the 30 bike fleet (as of 10/18/16) to be in use.  Jeff Groll, the bike fleet manager for IPF, reports that of the 30 bikes in the fleet 6 are available for checkout by any IPF staff and the rest are assigned to individual employees.  Some of those assigned bikes even feature electric-assist systems to make the bike trips even less of a physical challenge as well as extending the possibilities of trips that can be done by bike.  Questions about the IPF bike fleet can be sent to Jeff here.   This IPF article (Aug. 2014) features the story of Gus Gosselin, who championed bike use within IPF for many years for additional background information.

Landscape Services new e-cargo bike in the field hauling a customized Bikes at Work brand trailer, May 2022.

Additionally, IPF has provided access to a bike locker for employees at the Simon Powerplant for a number of years.  Staff at this facility found the work environment inside to not be conducive for storing bikes inside, so the locker has helped provide an great alternative for some of their regular bike commuters with nicer bikes.  Some pics of that locker below:

The locker is located on the east side of the powerplant.

A visitor checks out the locker with Gus Gosselin.

Gus demonstrates how his work bike can easily be stored.