The City of Kamloops is offering a free – safe and secure way for people to lock up their bicycles at community events, including at the Memorial Cup.

Environment and Sustainability Manager, Glen Cheetham, says the Kamloops Bike Valet is similar to a coat check.

“There’ll be a service available, where you can check in your bike. It’ll be tagged, you’ll receive a claim stub and then event personnel and volunteers will look after your bike and it will be set up on a rack system so that you can enjoy the event,” he said.

“Then when you’re finished, you come back and much like the coat check again, you will provide your claim stub and get your bike back.”

Cheetham says the initiative is made possible by a $23,500 donation, which went towards the purchase of roughly 32 bike racks.

“These are lightweight, collapsible, easy to transport bike racks that you might see sometimes at triathlons or other bike valets around as well as tents for and as well as tents, wayfinding signs, claims, ticket stubs and potentially some other equipment as the program grows,” Cheetham said.

He notes as a community asset, it allows groups to offer a cheaper and more secure way for cyclists to ride their bikes to community events.

“The idea is that ideally the bike valet parking is free, we’re trying to remove barriers to using your bike, one of the big barriers is concerned for security,” Cheetham said. “This program is intended to enable event organizers to offer this service to the guests.”

During the Memorial Cup, the Bike Valet will be set up on the North Side of Cunliffe House at Riverside Park from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. so that cyclists can park their bike for free.