Spotlight: Green Star ‘Cyclist Facilities’ credit

Once upon a time, as any cyclist will tell you, bike racks were usually located deep within the bowels of office buildings.  Rarely were cyclists lucky enough to find secure storage space, let alone showers and changing facilities.

Times have certainly changed, with the 2010 Colliers International Office Tenant Survey finding that providing bike racks and showers was one of the fastest emerging ways to attract and retain staff.  Colliers National Director of Research, Nerida Conisbee, has said that “tenants are seeing bike parking as equally important as car parking.”

Green Star is driving a radical cultural shift in the way cycling facilities are viewed within buildings.  The ANZ Centre in Melbourne, which recently achieved a 6 Star Green Star – Office As Built v2 rating, features 560 bicycle spaces, 59 showers and more than 750 lockers.  The cycling facilities, which were awarded two points under the Green Star Tra-3 credit, complement the yoga and Pilates classes, physiotherapy and massage at the ANZ Wellness Centre, all integral elements of the employee attraction and retention program.

The Tra-3 Cyclist Facilities credit, included in all Green Star rating tools, reward projects that encourage the use of bicycles by building occupants and visitors.  Up to three Green Star points are available.

The credit does vary depending on the tool.  In the case of the Green Star – Office v3 rating tool, one point is awarded when secure bicycle storage is provided for five per cent of building staff (based on one person per 15m2 of NLA), along with accessible showers, changing facilities and one secure locker per bicycle space.  Two points are available when 10 per cent of staff have access to secure bicycle storage.

An additional point is awarded when visitor bicycle parking is provided at one space per 750m2 of NLA.  This must be accessible, well signposted, and close to a major public entrance to the building.

At Australia’s first Green Star-rated building, 8 Brindabella Circuit at the Canberra Airport, secure bicycle facilities were provided for 10 per cent of the staff.  Visitor bike racks were also provided.  Interestingly, the use of the bike racks was expected to be limited, with pilots expected to prefer driving over cycling.  However, this has not been the case, and there has been a larger than expected use of the racks.

Over at 500 Bourke Street, which houses staff of NAB, a secure bicycle cage with 300 spaces, 30 showers and 400 lockers encourage staff to ride to work. NAB’s Group Executive Group Business Services, Gavin Slater, has said the bank encourages “our people to make sustainable choices in their everyday lives and are committed to providing the necessary support and facilities for our people to maintain a healthy lifestyle.”

Tell us your story about working in a Green Star building and using the cyclist facilities.  Email greenstar@gbca.org.au to share your feedback.