Upgraded facilities to encourage active transport

The City of Armadale’s Orchard House basement bicycle storage and shower facilities have recently received an upgrade. The City’s Property Services team have added a new, free laundered towel service for staff of a variety of organisations operating from the building. This service provides users clean towels throughout the week, exchanging the used towels for laundered ones.

The service has been implemented due to complaints received regarding the storing and drying of personal towels in the basement bicycle storage and shower facilities. This has lead Property Services to implement the laundered towel service to reduce complaints, improve hygiene practices and, make active transport to work more accessible and attractive for the workforce operating from Orchard House.

Additionally, Property Services also installed grounded bicycle racks to complement the standing bicycle racks already available in the Orchard House bicycle storage. Previously, only standing bicycle racks were available which proved to be difficult for those unable to lift their bicycles onto the standing bicycle racks. This upgrade further encourages people to be active on their journey to work, both supporting active transport in the City of Armadale and encouraging physical activity.

The upgrading of these facilities and provision of the laundered towel service makes being active on the way to work through the use of local footpaths and cycle paths the easy, healthy choice for all City and non-City employees operating from the Orchard House building. This also complements actions outlined in the City’s Community Health and Wellbeing Plan 2021-2024 aiming to make active transport the easy choice:

• 11.1.2.1 Support and encourage residents to participate in physical activity.
• 11.1.2.3: Integrate health and wellbeing components into the designing of new and upgraded facilities.