Design Responses > About Parking Facilities > Case Studies >
Public Realm
Tamachi (Tokyo JP)

Underground bike parking facility Tamachi train station. Parking is provided for up to 1200 bicycles plus 50 motorcycle spaces. The facility is open access. It has ejection bands (conveyor belts) for the departing bicycles, and downhill ramps for the arriving bicycles. Parking furniture consists of metal tube structures acting as fences to organise lots of bicycles in order to keep them within the boxes marked on the floor. Bicycles are allowed to stay 24 hours, but the facility is only open 20 hours a day, from 0430-0130. Users can pay a daily ticket (£0.75) but also a monthly subscription (£9). The site is staffed, and there is also a CCTV security System.

Provider
Minato Ward

Designer / Architect
Minato city planning office

Cost of provision
Undisclosed information, the Minato planning office states that Tamachi cycle parking is part of its long-term transport strategy agenda. The facility is likely to be retrofitted to optimise its use as the cycle parking demand increases.

Strengths
• The space has a great potential of becoming a major bicycle parking facility on this side of the city as it is currently used only as open freestanding area
• Capacity could be optimised to 2400 bicycle parking spaces if furniture is installed

Weaknesses
• The use of space is not optimised, as it is in other sites in Tokyo
• The facility does not have furniture to lock to the bicycles, the bicycle security primarily relies on inbuilt wheel-locks of the bicycles

Useful References
www.city.minato.tokyo.jp