If they can have handicap parking, wheelchair ramps, and other accessibility features (rightfully so!), what’s the problem with helping businesses to make their stores accessible by bike?
Everyone wants to support “buy local”, and there’s no better way to do it than by bike!
Seems like installing a simple bike rack would be a win-win-win all around. What exactly is the difficulty?
I don’t believe for a second that it’s a “they don’t know unless you tell them” problem, because I’ve contacted many, MANY stores and plaza management to let them know that they are losing business. Nothing changes.
And it’s not like they can’t see people locking their bikes to signs, trees, fences, or cluttering up the walkways because they have no other options when visiting their business.
Backstory: Over the last two years, I’ve been adding cycling infrastructure to OpenStreetMap. Stuff like bike lanes, bike parking, repair stands, etc. I’ve spent dozens of hours checking plazas in a 30 km radius, local storefronts, malls, etc., to see what options they offer. It’s SHOCKING to see how many have absolutely no bike parking. Large stores, post offices, coffee shops, or even gyms. I try to contact as many as I can, but almost never receive replies or acknowledgement. Contacting local representatives is even more futile, as they have no control over what these businesses do. This means I’m either going far out of my way to visit stores that have bike parking, or I take a car, which seems like madness either way.
Ironically there is a very large trek franchise store near me, No bike rack. lol.
I guess they want you to leave with a bike, not arrive.
Lol. Which I’m sure is the majority of their business. I just wanted to cycle down and grab a bell for my wife’s bike…and not all bike stores have space for you to bring your bike in while you shop.
Actually, I’ve come across quite a few bike shops that don’t have bike racks! Bizarre!
Ours has one, but it’s not secured to anything, so it’s functionality useless.
It’s generally accepted practice that you can bring your bike into any bike shop. There is therefore no need to lock up your bike to a rack. In fact, people who have the fanciest bikes probably don’t even own a bike lock.
Right, I get it. But the place I bought my bike was a narrow store front with 3 rows of bikes back to front of store and a single path in. There was no way anyone is parking A single bike, only could bring in a bike and walk it through to repair bay. And during winter rides nobody wants my snow and salt dripping bike on their showroom floor