The Nocturne: Art at Night autumn festival, the fourth of its kind in Halifax, caused waves of spectators to flood the streets. The event, which took place on Saturday night, supplied a wide selection of artistic spectacles that spread across the Waterfront, Spring Garden Road, Downtown, North End and Dartmouth waterfront areas. Transportation between and to the events thus became a central issue for many, especially cyclists who would experience issues navigating amongst crowds and finding suitable places to park their bikes.

The bike valet service at the Spring Garden Public Library was provided by Clean Nova Scotia, an environmental non-profit organization. The free service lifted a weight off cyclist shoulders, as the service provided a much-needed secure space for event-goers to park their bike and any extra belongings. Much like a coat check, a ticket was given to match owners with their bikes.

Many Nocturne participants who used the service commented on how it allowed them a convenient space to store their bikes from which they could walk to different exhibits of interest. Biking between exhibits poses challenge of its own, as volunteer Marc Rickard mentioned: “You’ve got to watch out for both the pedestrians and cars, and it’s nice to be able to walk around and people watch.” Bike valet users also mentioned that many bike racks in the downtown area are sparsely located or of poor quality.

This service was provided previously by Clean Nova Scotia at the Atlantic Film Festival. The equipment was originally used at Bike Week by HRM, who also owns the equipment consisting of a long horizontal pole that allows for easy storage. Bike valet services are a popular way to reward sustainable transport to events, and they have been employed in a number of cities such as Vancouver and Toronto.