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How a towel and good lighting will help bring Brisbane workers back to the CBD
Forget the free car parking spot – a good shower and hair straighteners are the office perks Brisbane needs to slash traffic congestion while bringing work-from-home employees back to the CBD.
Anyone who has tried to walk, scoot or ride to an office job, especially in Brisbane’s stifling summer, knows it’s less than ideal to arrive at your desk dripping with sweat.
The end-of-trip facilities at 400 George Street enable commuters to store their bike safely and out of the weather.Credit: Scott Burrows/ nettletontribe
And not having good end-of-trip facilities can disproportionately affect women, given unwritten expectations on them to wear make-up and heels to work.
If there is nowhere to shower, change out of activewear, apply make-up and fix your hair – especially without first having to walk, dishevelled, past your colleagues – an active commute starts to look pretty unappealing. Not to mention the need for safe, dry facilities in which to store your bike.
University of Queensland researchers analysed more than 200 million bike-sharing trips in 10 cities worldwide – including Brisbane – over 14 years and found bad weather, hills and the dark made women avoid cycling even more than men.
For example, in New York, an extra one millimetre of rain an hour reduced the number of male riders by 35 per cent and females by 39 per cent.
“It would be a modal shift away from the bike – or, in some cases, the e-scooter – to other modes like the bus or car,” UQ research fellow Dr Richard Bean said.
One theory the researchers considered was whether women may avoid cycling to work in rainy, cold or humid conditions if their workplace expected them to wear skirts, heels and make-up, and especially where end-of-ride facilities, such as showers, were missing.
In good news, the Queensland Development Code, published in 2020, requires end-of-trip facilities to be installed in all new major developments with a floor area greater than 2000 square metres – including commercial office buildings – in several council areas, including Brisbane.
But some office buildings in the CBD are going the extra mile.
There are more than 500 lockers, 200 secure bike-parking spaces, e-bike charging ports, 26 showers with Caroma smart command fixtures, and a full bathroom for the disabled at 400 George Street.Credit: Scott Burrows/ nettletontribe
In August 2021, Cromwell’s 400 George Street transformed a space with high ceilings into a sophisticated and luxurious end-of-trip facility.
“Refresh at 400”, designed by Brisbane architectural firm nettletontribe, features warm timbers, dense greenery, and a hotel-like lounge space.
Built-in leather seating nooks and ottomans are scattered throughout to create a sense of luxury, with access to natural light.
It features hundreds of lockers, secure bike parking spaces, e-bike charging ports, showers, ironing stations, ghd straighteners, Dyson hair dryers, mechanically exhausted airing cupboards, feature vanity basins, touchless-entry doors with access control, and a green vegetation wall.
Heritage Lanes at 80 Ann Street is another example with an impressive offering for tenants, including 665 bike racks, 1302 lockers, six showers and space for 10 e-scooters, while public servants at 1 William Street can access 600 bike racks, repair kits, secure lockers, showers, a drying room and irons.
Bosses unable to provide end-of-trip facilities in their own building could consider subsidising membership fees for services like Cycle2City, an underground space near King George Square that features secure bike parking, showers, towels, lockers, irons, and an on-site mechanic.
In Australia, only one in four cycling commuters are women.
More women on bikes or walking would reduce the number of cars on our traffic-clogged streets, while also improving their health and saving money.
E-bikes and electric cargo bikes are part of the solution as they make it easier to commute longer distances faster – including hills – without getting hot and sweaty.
Australian data shows women already know this, as females are almost twice as likely to commute on an e-bike as men.
Tasmania and Adelaide offer rebates for people who buy an e-bike, and while Queensland is yet to follow, employers could arrange novated leases for e-bikes.
In the Netherlands, employers pay cyclists a tax-free mileage allowance up to €0.19 a kilometre – the same rate available to staff who travel to work by car.
Great facilities at work are a juicy sweetener for employees who would otherwise prefer to work from home.
Access to showers, secure bike racks and good change rooms are, of course, not the only barriers for people who would like to ride.
More safe and separated paths away from busy traffic would be another good place to start.